Yantong Mountain Fortress

Yantong Mountain Fortress

Yantong Mountain Fortress is a cultural heritage site protected by Yingkou City.

Yantong Mountain Fortress is located in Hanjiagou Village, Xutun Town, Gaizhou City, and is a mountain fortress built during the Goguryeo period.

Ten kilometers southeast of Gaizhou City lies Yantong Mountain, which gets its name from its shape. It is also known by other local names such as Zao Tu Shan (Stove Chimney Mountain), Zao Dongyu Shan (Stove Cave Valley Mountain), Niangniangmiao Shan (Goddess Temple Mountain), Zao Tu Feng (Stove Chimney Peak), and Zao Wangyu Shan (Stove King Valley Mountain). The mountain has a circumference of about four kilometers and an elevation of 250 meters. At the summit is a standalone peak stretching from north to south, with smooth, wall-like sides on both flanks, making the terrain extremely steep. On the gentle slopes halfway up the peak, there are ruins such as ancient city walls, wells, temple foundations, and stone carvings.

Yantong Mountain Fortress was built on this flat yet strategically elevated terrain. The northern, eastern, and southern walls were constructed along steep cliffs, while the western wall utilizes the natural mountain defenses. The entire fortress has an irregular, elongated north-south layout. It is 140 meters long from north to south and 65 meters wide from east to west, covering an area of nearly 10,000 square meters, including the outer city, inner city, and main citadel. The stone walls are made of variously sized rocks, some over one meter long and others as small as 0.1 or 0.2 meters. The walls are 10 meters high and 2 meters wide, though only about 5 meters remain intact today. One gate is located slightly north of the center of the western wall, well-preserved, measuring 2 meters wide, 2.6 meters deep, and 2.5 meters high. The paving stones on the gate are 2.2 meters long, 0.78 meters wide, and 0.4 meters thick. There are two prominent stone platforms standing at the northern and southern ends of the fortress, which served as command posts during wartime. The cultural layer here is about 0.3 meters thick.

The outer walls form the first line of defense for the fortress. To the southwest lies the inner city, whose southern wall merges with the outer wall to make efficient use of the terrain. The main citadel is situated in the central-southern part of the fortress, encompassing the inner city and representing the highest point of the site. It is 30 meters long from north to south and 15 meters wide from east to west. The area is flat, sheltered from wind, and faces the sun, offering a panoramic view of the fortress. The cultural layer within the fortress reaches half a meter in depth, mixed with pottery fragments and numerous roof tiles, indicating that buildings once stood here. There is only one water source inside the fortress, located 8 meters northeast of the gate, but it has now dried up. The temple foundation is at the northern end of the inner city, with visible wall bases measuring 10 meters from east to west and 5 meters from north to south. It was originally dedicated to the Three Sisters Goddesses.

There are eight stone carvings in total, all featuring inscriptions of varying sizes. On the eastern cliff face of the western mountainside, where the path turns north after ascending from the east, there is a vertical inscription reading “Xian Fan Fen Jie” (Boundary Between Immortals and Mortals), along with another vertical inscription that reads “Ming Wanli Sanshi Nian Er Yue Nongsu Shixin Shu” (Written by Nongsu Shixin in February of the 30th Year of the Wanli Era of the Ming Dynasty). Both are carved in intaglio, measuring 2.5 meters in height and 0.8 meters in width. At the mountain gate, the words “Zao Dongyu Shan Cheng” (Zao Dongyu Mountain Fortress) are inscribed across three stones. At the climbing point at the northern end of the central citadel, the three characters “Tian Xian Ju” (Celestial Immortals’ Abode) are vertically carved in intaglio, measuring 0.86 meters in height and 0.27 meters in width. On the cliff below the central citadel at the northern end of the inner city, there is a vertically carved poem praising the Goddess Bixia Yuanjun: “At the beginning of heaven, azure and clear, clouds disperse; the splendor of the rosy clouds, vibrant energy swirling, what color is it? Neither red nor white. Looking around, the sky is vast and blue. The son of Heaven is called: the Yuanjun, who shines upon the earth, presides over mankind. In solemn attire and sincere devotion, fragrant offerings are presented with wholehearted reverence. All prayers are answered, blessings extend boundlessly—illuminating countless spirits.” It is signed: “Disciple Zhang Mingru, respectfully written.” This inscription is 0.85 meters high and 1.4 meters long, carved in intaglio. Slightly above and to the south of this carving is another cliff inscription that reads “Bixia,” attributed to “Heiji Guang Shu” (written by Heiji Guang), vertically carved in relief, measuring 0.7 meters in height and 1.2 meters in width. On the eastern cliff wall in the middle of the inner city, there is a poem titled “Ti Zao Tu Qing Feng” (Inscription on Zao Tu Blue Peak), vertically carved, 0.7 meters high and 0.5 meters wide, in shallow intaglio that is now worn and difficult to discern. Two other inscriptions on the eastern cliff wall in the southeastern corner of the inner city are also vertically carved poems in intaglio, with faint and eroded script that is hard to read.

In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People's Government (Ying Zheng Fa [1984] No. 108) designated Yantong Mountain Fortress as a municipal-level cultural heritage site. The protected area and construction control zone announced by the Yingkou Municipal People's Government (Ying Zheng Ban Fa [1986] No. 51) are as follows: the fortress interior and a 5-meter buffer outside the walls constitute the protected zone; a further 15-meter area beyond the protected zone is classified as a Category I construction control zone.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, News, and Broadcasting; Contributor: Dong Wenjie

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