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Site of the Southwest Chengzi City

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The Site of the Southwest Chengzi City is located in Xinglonggou Village, Sibaozi Township, 75 kilometers northwest of Zhangwu County. Three li (approximately 1.5 km) south of the site lies Xiaonanwa Village, while to the west it borders the Liu River (formerly known as the Xin Kai River). Across the river lies Inner Mongolia’s Kulun Banner, facing Wulibu’ge Village from afar. The Southwest Chengzi City was built from earth and has a rectangular layout. Due to its location in a sandy area, years of wind erosion, sand accumulation, afforestation, and farming have made the city walls less distinct. Only the undulating remnants of the southeast wall are still visible on the surface, with the eastern section of the southern wall being relatively clear. Corner towers remain, and the collapsed height and width reflect the original structure. No remains of the city gates have been found. The east wall stretches approximately 900 meters from north to south, with its foundation undulating like waves about one meter above the ground due to windblown sand. The south wall is 850 meters wide from east to west, with the eastern section of the southern wall being more distinctly preserved. At the southeastern corner of the city, the collapsed wall stands over two meters high. About 150 meters west of the corner, the wall has collapsed to a height of 2.5 meters and a width of 10 meters. Most of the northern part of the west wall, the northwest corner, and over 40 meters of the northeast corner of the north wall still remain, while the rest have been eroded away by the river.

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Southwest Chengzi City Site

The Site of the Southwest Chengzi City is located in Xinglonggou Village, Sibaozi Township, 75 kilometers northwest of Zhangwu County. Three li (approximately 1.5 km) south of the site lies Xiaonanwa Village, while to the west it borders the Liu River (formerly known as the Xin Kai River). Across the river lies Inner Mongolia’s Kulun Banner, facing Wulibu’ge Village from afar.

The Southwest Chengzi City was built from earth and has a rectangular layout. Due to its location in a sandy area, years of wind erosion, sand accumulation, afforestation, and farming have made the city walls less distinct. Only the undulating remnants of the southeast wall are still visible on the surface, with the eastern section of the southern wall being relatively clear. Corner towers remain, and the collapsed height and width reflect the original structure. No remains of the city gates have been found. The east wall stretches approximately 900 meters from north to south, with its foundation undulating like waves about one meter above the ground due to windblown sand. The south wall is 850 meters wide from east to west, with the eastern section of the southern wall being more distinctly preserved. At the southeastern corner of the city, the collapsed wall stands over two meters high. About 150 meters west of the corner, the wall has collapsed to a height of 2.5 meters and a width of 10 meters. Most of the northern part of the west wall, the northwest corner, and over 40 meters of the northeast corner of the north wall still remain, while the rest have been eroded away by the river.

The current site area is 560,000 square meters (the original area was 765,000 square meters). Within the site, layers of construction materials such as bricks, tiles, and porcelain fragments reach depths of 10–20 centimeters. Artifacts unearthed here include bronze ware, ironware, jade ware, porcelain, pottery, and bone artifacts. In 1980, a pair of standing Liao Dynasty white porcelain Buddhist statues were excavated. In 1981, a stone coffin and a stone pagoda pillar (85 cm tall, 36.6 cm in diameter) were discovered at the western city wall. The octagonal pillar is 14.5 cm wide on each side; one face bears inscriptions in Chinese characters, while the other seven are engraved with Sanskrit.

The Southwest Chengzi City is the largest ancient city site in the Zhangwu region in terms of area, with the richest cultural strata and the greatest number of excavated artifacts among all Liao Dynasty sites.

Protected area: within the city and extending 20 meters outside the outer base of the city walls.

Construction control zone: beyond the protected area, a Class I control zone extends 40 meters east and south, 10 meters west, and 30 meters north; a Class II control zone extends 50 meters beyond the Class I control zone.