Site of Muyang City

Site of Muyang City

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

Muyang City, also known as Muyang Fortress, is located on the hills east of Liujia Tun, at the northwestern foot of Lao Tieshan in Lushunkou, about 500 meters from the sea. According to the "Fengtian General Annals": “Muyang City is 150 li southwest of Jinzhou City, with a perimeter of 250 bu and one gate.” On-site investigations show that the city is rectangular, about 82 meters wide from east to west, approximately 133 meters long from north to south, with a perimeter of 430 meters. This largely matches the historical record of “250 bu” (where one bu was equivalent to five chi at the time). There is a gap about 12 meters wide on the northern wall, which is believed to have been the location of the city gate.

Today, only remnants of the city’s foundations remain. The foundation is built with stones, while the walls were constructed by ramming earth, rising about 2 meters above the ground, with the highest point on the western wall reaching around 3 meters. It is evident that the original city walls were quite tall. A variety of artifacts have been unearthed within the city. The lowest layer contains stone tools and pottery from the Neolithic Age. Artifacts from the Warring States Period include bronze dowels, bronze axe molds, Ming knife coins, Ming script round coins, and Yihua coins. Han Dynasty relics consist of bronze arrowheads, bronze belt hooks, iron tongs, iron knives, roof tiles, as well as clay seals such as “He Yang Ling Yin” and “Wu Ku Zhong Cheng.” Clay seals functioned similarly to modern wax seals for securing confidential correspondence. Around Muyang City, in areas such as Diaojia Village, Yinjia Village, and Yujia Village, there are numerous Han Dynasty shell mound tombs and brick tombs. At Dawu Cliff to the south of the city, Han Dynasty wells, iron mattocks, and Warring States Period tombs have been discovered. Based on the unearthed artifacts, this area has been a settlement since the Neolithic Age. The city was built in the late Warring States Period and flourished during the Han Dynasty. Judging by its scale and structure, it appears to have been a coastal defense city, not far from Yangtouwa Bay to the west, which was an important port connecting the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula. Built against the mountain and situated at a high elevation, Muyang City was protected from flooding and enjoyed a strategically defensible position. Its convenient land and water transportation routes also contributed to its role as an ancient settlement and a significant coastal fortress.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Liaoning Province