Sacred Trace Mountain

Sacred Trace Mountain

Sacred Trace Mountain

Sacred Trace Mountain is located 45 kilometers southwest of Faku, beside the Beijing-Shenyang Highway. The mountain features undulating ridges that stretch for miles, with a rocky summit where boulders of impressive size and strange shapes are found. The slopes are covered with lush greenery, including pines, cypresses, willows, poplars, purple locusts, and yellow elms, forming a vibrant green world.

This mountain was regarded as a geomantic treasure during the Liao Dynasty. The ruling nobility built tombs on the mountain and constructed graves within the woods, hoping to bestow blessings upon their descendants and ensure everlasting prosperity. It is called Sacred Trace Mountain, also suggesting the commemoration of their prominent and sacred legacy through these burial sites. An epitaph states: “Buried on the sunny side of Sacred Trace Mountain in the ancient lands of Liao, it has been over a thousand years to this day.”

Sacred Trace Mountain is renowned across Liaoning’s northern region for its many historic relics. After the liberation, relevant departments excavated more than 20 tombs here. In 1952, an octagonal mural tomb built with strip stones was discovered here, and in 1974, Tomb No. 7—a well-preserved and culturally rich early noble tomb—was found. It is a rare and precious find in the northeastern region. This tomb is a brick-built multi-chamber structure, with the living quarters containing a wooden coffin shaped like a “small tent,” resembling a nine-ridged house with terraces and railings, all exquisitely crafted. On the east and west walls of the coffin bed hung two silk paintings: one depicts a scene from “Landscape and Twin Rabbits,” featuring mountains, trees, pavilions, and figures; the other shows bamboo groves, sparrows, and rabbits.<〈竹雀双兔图〉〉。在这座山上还发现了一座辽代北宰相萧义的墓葬，墓室中有石棺一架，还有一方墓志及壁画，绘有“出行图”、“归来图”及武士等。墓志记载着萧义的生平，对研究辽史提供了宝贵的资料。

Sacred Trace Mountain is abundant in historic sites, almost like a living specimen of an entire era. This vast and ancient mountain is famed for its long history and mysterious charm, where the old historical and cultural legacy has transformed into an eternal landscape.