Wokenhada Cave

Wokenhada Cave

Wokenhada Cave

Wokenhada Cave is a cave once inhabited by the ancient Yilan people and later converted into a tomb. Carbon-14 dating of artifacts by archaeological experts confirmed human habitation in this cave between 5,700 and 6,000 years ago.

Wokenhada Cave is located in Wuguo Village, Yilan Town, on the eastern bank of the Woken River. The mountain where it is located stands about 200 meters above the ground, stretching approximately 850 meters from the southern to the northern base. The slope of the hill where the cave sits has a gradient of 70 degrees, and the nearest point from the base of the mountain to the river is about 14 meters. The closest part of the hill directly facing the site to the riverbank is around 70 meters. The cave entrance is slightly southwest, about 85 meters above the ground. The cave itself is a square, horizontal chamber carved into the rock wall, measuring 12 meters in total length, with an opening 1.5 meters wide and over 2 meters high. Artifacts unearthed include stone tools shaped like steamed buns, polished long stone axes, jade discs, jade pendants, tubular jade, tubular stones, uniquely shaped jade pendants, perforated rectangular bone plates, as well as two squatting flexed burials (a burial method from the Neolithic Age).

Based on the unearthed comb-patterned pottery shards, jade and stone utensils used for food, and charred bones of fish, birds, and animals that were eaten, it can be inferred that the site was backed by green mountains and adjacent to the Woken River, near the Songhua River to the north — making it a suitable location for fishing and hunting at the time. Crafting sharp armor from bones is said to have been a custom of the ancient Yilan people (as recorded in the genealogy of the Yilou people, who were native to Yilan). This provides insight into traces of the Sushen people, who lived across the eastern regions. The variety of jade ornaments worn suggests that there were interactions involving at least two different cultures, including cultural exchanges and trade.

Wokenhada Cave was discovered in 1950 and excavated under the leadership of Professor Li Wenxin, director of the Northeast Archaeological Research Institute and the Northeast Museum. After excavation, the Five-Colored Pavilion was erected as a memorial and also serves as a resting place for visitors.

Address: Wuguo Village, Yilan Town, Yilan County, Harbin City