Guizhou Ancient City

Guizhou Ancient City

Guizhou Ancient City is a cultural heritage site protected by Yingkou City.

Guizhou Ancient City is located in Guinan Village, Guizhou Town, Gaizhou City. The eastern, southern, and northern sides of the site are residential areas, while the western side borders the Fudu River. The Bohai Sea’s Liaodong Bay lies 1,500 meters to the north, and Yangshan Mountain is 1,500 meters to the south.

Guizhou Ancient City was first built during the Liao Dynasty. According to the *Liao History: Geography Treatise*, “Guizhou, an observation post, was established by Emperor Taizu after pacifying the Bohai Kingdom and relocating its inhabitants, but was later abolished. In the 29th year of the Tonghe era, during the campaign against Goguryeo, captured Bohai households were resettled here, restoring the city. Military affairs were under the jurisdiction of the Tanghe Office of the Southern Jurchens. It governed one county, Guisheng County.”

The *Liaodong Records* from the Ming Dynasty state, “Guizhou is ninety li south of Gaizhou City, where two city sites remain, with visible ruins.” Gu Zuyu’s *Essentials of Historical Geography* records, “Guisheng City is located northeast of (Jinzhou) Guard. The Liao Dynasty established Guizhou, with its seat at Guisheng County.” The *Fengtian General Gazetteer* states, “Guizhou Fort is thirty li southwest of present-day Xiongyue City, the site of the Liao Dynasty’s Guizhou.” Various historical texts align geographically with the current location near Guinan Village, Guizhou Town, Gaizhou City, confirming that the Liao Dynasty’s Guizhou Ancient City is located there.

The city site is situated on a terrace east of the Fudu River, elevated 1.5 meters above the surrounding plains. On the western edge lies an earthen ridge stretching 148 meters from north to south, which forms the foundation of the rammed-earth city wall, approximately 8 meters wide. Guizhou Ancient City had a square layout, oriented north-south, with a perimeter of 800 meters and a total area of 40,000 square meters. Artifacts found at the site include Neolithic stone tools, Han Dynasty patterned bricks, Liao Dynasty building materials, and ceramic fragments. These findings suggest the site was a long-term human settlement and holds significant archaeological value.

In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People’s Government (Yingzheng Fa [1984] No. 108) designated Guizhou Ancient City as a municipal-level cultural heritage protection unit. The Yingkou Municipal People’s Government (Yingzheng Fa [1990] No. 38) specified the protected area and construction control zone as follows: a 20-meter radius around the site as the protected core, and an 80-meter buffer beyond that as a Class I construction control zone.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Radio, Television and Tourism. Contributor: Dong Wenjie.