Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress

Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress

Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress, located in Yingchengzi Village, Balizhen, Haicheng City, Liaoning Province, is an important Goguryeo cultural heritage site in China’s Liaodong region. From October 22 to November 7, 1999, the Liaoning Provincial Institute of Archaeology and the Anshan Museum conducted a one-month trial excavation, confirming that it is an underground stone structure from the Goguryeo period, where a large number of relics were unearthed. The site and its surrounding environment are relatively well-preserved. It is a mountain fortress from the middle to late Goguryeo period with a rich distribution of cultural relics. The perimeter of the site is 2,472 meters.

The cultural stratigraphy of the site can be divided into two layers. The upper layer yielded a large number of arrowheads, iron knives, iron swords, iron spears, and sling stones, while the lower layer produced Tang Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins, stone mortars, red rope-patterned roof tiles, and square-grid tile bricks, among other architectural components. The main findings include square-grid-patterned gray pottery tiles mixed with mica, measuring 9.5 cm in width, 7 cm in height, and 0.6 cm in thickness; rope-patterned red pottery fragments mixed with mica, measuring 10 cm in width, 7.5 cm in height, and 0.5 cm in thickness; and plain-patterned pottery fragments mixed with mica, measuring 13 cm in width, 9 cm in height, and 0.6 cm in thickness. In addition, there were Tang Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins and some weapons. The Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress site in Haicheng has been dated to approximately 1,600 years ago.

Relics unearthed within the fortress include: gray rope-patterned bricks, grooved bricks, square-grid-patterned tiles, animal-head roof tiles, gray drip tiles, as well as fragments of pottery such as urns and jars; ironware includes iron knives, iron swords, iron spears, arrowheads, as well as Liao Dynasty plowshares, plows, bowls, and three-legged cauldrons. In addition, there are ancient coins such as Ming knife coins, five-zhu coins, and Kaiyuan Tongbao coins.

On May 26, 2007, Yingchengzi Mountain Fortress was designated as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Liaoning Province.

Protected area: within the fortress and within 10 meters outside the outer base of the city walls.

Construction control zone: the area within 20 meters outside the protected area is classified as a Class I construction control zone, and the area within 30 meters outside the Class I construction control zone is classified as a Class II construction control zone.

Balizhen: Balizhen is located in the southeastern part of Haicheng. The town has 24 villages, a population of 38,000, and covers a total area of 100 square kilometers. The town features a terrain that is half plain and half hilly. The Dapan Highway and Haiying Highway intersect here, and there are two dedicated railway lines, making transportation very convenient.

The mountains in Balizhen are fertile and suitable for forestry and fruit cultivation. There are currently 2.5 million fruit trees of various kinds, with an annual total output of 15,000 tons and an output value of up to 15 million yuan, making it one of Haicheng’s important fruit production bases. The town is especially famous for its wide variety of peaches and is known as the “Peach Township.” …… More details about Balizhen++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Liaoning Province