Red Hat City Site

Red Hat City Site

The Red Hat City Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

The Red Hat City Site is located in Hongmaozi Township, Fuxin County, dating back to the Liao Dynasty.

On the eastern foothills of Tazi Mountain, on the west bank of the Yimatu River in the Fuxin Mongolian Autonomous County, there is the ruins of an ancient city: square in shape, with earthen city walls still partially preserved, featuring a southern and a northern gate, now both reduced to gaps. No buildings remain within the city, which is now cultivated farmland. It was the Chengzhou City of the Liao Dynasty, as well as the county seat of Tongchang under the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. According to the "Liao History: Biography of Emperor Shengzong," in the first year of the Taiping era (1021), on the Gengzi day of March, Xiao Shaoye, the Imperial Son-in-law, built a private city, which was granted the name Muzhou, with the military designation Changqing, at the level of a military governor. In the eleventh year of Taiping (1031), Muzhou was renamed Chengzhou, retaining the same military designation and rank. It governed Tongchang County, with Chengzhou and Tongchang sharing the same administrative center. The mistress of the city was Princess Yannujing, the second daughter of Emperor Shengzong of the Liao Dynasty.

Near the ruins of the Hongmaozi Ancient City, a Jin Dynasty stele known as the "Tongchang County Boundary Marker" was unearthed. The stele records: "120 li east to the boundary of Shun’an County, 135 li south to the boundary of Hongzheng County, 140 li west to the boundary of Yimin County, and 3 li north to the county itself." This indicates that after the Jin Dynasty overthrew the Liao, Chengzhou was abolished and Tongchang County was established, with both having their administrative centers at the Hongmaozi site.

On December 20, 1988, the Red Hat City Site was designated by the People's Government of Liaoning Province as part of the fourth batch of provincial-level cultural relic protection units in Liaoning.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units in Liaoning