Yuezhou City

Yuezhou City

Yuezhou City is a cultural heritage site protected by Yingkou City.

Yuezhou City is located in Yuezhou Village, Jinqiao Town, Dashiqiao City, also known as Yaozhou City. Due to the collapse of its walls, a raised terrace has formed, making the ruins of the ancient city quite distinct.

Leaving the urban area of Yingkou and passing through Dashiqiao before turning north, the rural scenery that unfolds is breathtaking. Lingering in the mind is an ancient poem that plays back along the journey: “Chariots and horses hurried past Yaozhou, the morning breeze cool as early autumn; the lonely city, long in ruins, remains in the desolate village, broken walls and crumbling towers are all that’s left of the old buildings; when did the name of the state change? Perhaps the people are those from the old days; I dare not stop my steed to ask, fearing that even speaking of the vicissitudes of life would turn my hair white.” The poet Wei Xieyun (1812–?), a renowned calligrapher of the Qing Dynasty from Tieling, Liaoning, wrote this poem during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty. It reflects his sentiments upon passing through Yaozhou City. The poetry he composed during this visit undoubtedly deepened the public's impression of the ancient city, which was considered a significant town of note at the time.

Records about Yaozhou City are scattered across various historical texts. The *Fengtian General Annals · Construction · Fortresses* states: “The city (Haicheng), sixty li southwest, spans two li and three hundred paces, with gates to the north and south.” The *Fengtian General Annals* is compiled from local chronicles and was completed during the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty. Its recorded location matches the actual geographical position of Yaozhou. In the early Qing period, the city was not very large, with a circumference of only two or three Chinese li, and had gates to the north and south. The *Haicheng County Annals* under the section on historical sites states: “Yaozhou City, sixty li southwest of the county seat (Haicheng), is the Bohai Jiaozhou. Established by the Liao Dynasty as Yaozhou, it belonged to the Nanyang Navy of Haizhou and continued under the Jin Dynasty. In the early Qing, the general Yang Guli defeated the Ming general Mao Wenlong here.” As a local chronicle, the *Haicheng County Annals* strongly confirms the accuracy of the information in the *Fengtian General Annals*, identifying the ancient city sixty li southwest of Haicheng as Yaozhou City. The *Haicheng County Annals* points out that the Bohai Jiaozhou and Yaozhou are not the same place. The Bohai Jiaozhou was established during the rule of the Bohai Kingdom and is located in present-day Hamgyong Province in North Korea. Yaozhou first appeared during the Liao Dynasty and was under the jurisdiction of the Nanyang Navy Command of Haizhou. It continued to be used during the Jin Dynasty. The *Chronicles of the Bohai Kingdom* states: “The Yaozhou under the jurisdiction of Haizhou in the Liao records was originally the Bohai Jiaozhou... Yaozhou governed one county: Yan Yuan. After relocation, the old Bohai name was retained. Sixty li southwest of present-day Haicheng lies Yaozhou City, the site in question.” This further clarifies that Yaozhou was established during the Liao Dynasty, originally a branch of Haizhou. The Liao relocated the people of the Bohai Nanjing Nanyang Prefecture Jiaozhou (originally in present-day Hamgyong Province, North Korea) to build a city on Liao territory, renaming their settlement Jiaozhou as Liao’s Yaozhou. The Liao often relocated people from the Bohai Kingdom or other ethnic groups to Liao territory, retaining their hometown place names to soothe the populace, though this sometimes caused confusion, such as mistaking Yaozhou for Jiaozhou. The people of Yaozhou were relocated from the Bohai Jiaozhou, and the Liao rulers established Yaozhou City to resettle them.

The Liao relocated captives to live within Yaozhou City while engaging in farming outside the walls, playing a positive role in social interaction and development. Due to constraints such as the level of social development, the size of the city did not change much from the Liao and Jin periods through the early Qing, maintaining its original square layout with gates to the north and south. Changes came in modern times; based on current ruins, the final brick-and-stone sections of the city wall can still be seen. The raised earthen mounds slightly above ground level suggest a perimeter of about four Chinese li. The later-built walls on the foundation of the earlier ones show that the eastern and western walls were slightly longer than the southern and northern ones. As the city expanded and traffic increased, it gradually became a transportation hub and a key stronghold. By the late Qing, two more gates—eastern and western—were added to the original north and south gates, with the eastern gate closer to the north and the western gate closer to the south. For military defense, two artillery platforms were added on the northern and western walls, each equipped with checkpoints below.

The *Haicheng County Annals* record that “in the early Qing, the general Yang Guli defeated the Ming general Mao Wenlong here,” indicating that fierce battles took place here. This shows that by the late Ming and early Qing, the area was already a strategic military location. As the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty, the northeast region placed Yaozhou City at a crossroads connecting north and south and linking to inland areas. Its strategic military position naturally led to the reinforcement of the city’s defenses. Historical records indicate that the city walls in the early Qing were ten meters wide at the base, seven meters high, and eight meters wide at the top. The narrower top and wider base enhanced the stability of the walls. The Qing army relied on the strength of this city to defeat the Ming forces, and Yaozhou City played a crucial role in this victory. Thus, the scale of the city’s construction far exceeded that of previous dynasties.

With the development of modern society, the extension of the China Eastern Railway and the prosperity of the Mogouying (Yingkou) port, the ancient city of Yaozhou gradually faded from prominence. Once its dazzling glory dimmed, oblivion seemed inevitable. The world’s attention waned, and the city’s status plummeted, making its decline a natural outcome. Additionally, the strategic importance that invited warfare made it difficult for the ancient city to retain its former grandeur. Though its fate is bleak, it does not erase its past magnificence. Yaozhou Ancient City once flourished—majestic, bustling, vibrant with war banners and the smoke of battle.

Today, the ancient relics are hard to find, but local residents can still recount memories of the old city. There was a time when houses, courtyard walls, and even pigsties bore the marks of the ancient city walls like living posters. The remnants of ancient civilization, as time passes, leave later generations to sigh in regret. If one wishes to touch history, they must turn to books and documents. Even artifacts washed ashore by the river—how many ever get to be seen?

A poet captured the essence of the ancient city in a cool, poetic verse. If even the ancients could do so, what more can we do today? Yet how many ancient cities are so fortunate? Perhaps this is the destiny of Yaozhou Ancient City. Let us remember a city, a tale of the past, a fine story, and a poet…

Yaozhou City is a traditional square-shaped city of China, initially built during the Liao Dynasty, with slightly longer walls to the east and west, giving the overall structure a rectangular form. Initially, only gates to the north and south were open, but by the late Qing, two more gates and two barriers were added. The later gates were not aligned on the same axis—the eastern gate slightly northward and the western gate closer to the southern wall. One artillery platform was built on both the northern and western walls, each with a barrier below. The city was rebuilt in 1626. According to the poet’s description, the city had existed for a long time, used continuously from the Liao through the Jin Dynasties and up to the poet’s era. Records indicate that it underwent renovations and was in use until the late Qing, ultimately being destroyed in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904. This shows that Yaozhou City had a long period of continuous use.

In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People’s Government (Ying Zheng Fa [1984] No. 108) designated Yuezhou City as a municipal-level cultural heritage protection unit. The Yingkou Municipal People’s Government (Ying Zheng Fa [1990] No. 38) defined the scope of cultural heritage protection and construction control zone as follows: with the remaining northeastern corner of the city wall foundation as the center, an area within 10 meters is designated as the protected zone.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. Contributor: Dong Wenjie.