Ancient City Ruins of Kongwang Mountain

Ancient City Ruins of Kongwang Mountain

The ancient city ruins of Kongwang Mountain is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

The ancient city ruins of Kongwang Mountain are located on Kongwang Mountain and Fenghuang Mountain in Kongwangshan Neighborhood Committee, Haizhou District, Lianyungang City. The ancient city was built along the mountain ridge, stretching 640 meters from east to west and 550 meters from north to south, covering a total area of approximately 290,000 square meters. Multiple archaeological surveys conducted in 1980 and 2000–2004 revealed that the city had an eastern and a western gate, with the western gate being notably well-preserved. The northern wall of the city was constructed along the ridge of Kongwang Mountain, with the wall largely intact. It is currently about 2 meters wide and varies in height from 1 to 3 meters. The southern wall was built along the ridge of Fenghuang Mountain; the northern side of this section is relatively well-preserved, especially at the southwestern corner of the city and parts of the Fenghuang Mountain ridge, which remain intact with widths of 5–8 meters and heights of around 4 meters. The eastern and western walls were built on the flat land between the two mountains. The western wall is the best preserved, with a current width of around 10 meters and heights all exceeding 5 meters. The eastern wall has mostly disappeared above ground, except for a section on the southern and southeastern slopes of Kongwang Mountain, at the base of the mountain, and two earthen mounds preserved within the orchard to the south of the mountain. The construction methods used for the city walls fall into three types: the western wall and the western section of the southern wall were built directly by ramming earth over a relatively flat bedrock foundation, with a moat constructed outside the wall. The middle section of the southern wall, the northern wall, and the northern part of the eastern wall were all built along ridges or slopes, where the lower sections of the walls were constructed using stone blocks to create inner and outer retaining walls, filled with compacted earth, and then layered and rammed upward. A moat was also found outside the southern wall, and the construction tools used included bundled rammers with layers approximately 15–20 cm thick. A road about 5 meters wide crosses through the walls, connecting the eastern and western gates. The western gate still exists, and it is believed there was once a barbican outside the western gate, though it no longer remains. Additionally, battlements have been discovered outside the northern, southern, and western walls. At the top of the northern end of the western gate, steps made of blue bricks and a ramp leading up to the top of the western gate from inside the city were found. Based on the stratigraphic relationships visible in the wall sections, the ceramic shards found at the base of the walls, the blue bricks used for the steps, and the presence of battlements outside the walls, it is determined that this city was built during the Song Dynasty. Furthermore, it was not an administrative or economic city site but rather a rare, well-preserved military fortress from the Song Dynasty, unique across China. In 1982, it was listed as one of the first batch of cultural heritage sites protected at the municipal level in Lianyungang City. In 2006, it was designated as part of the sixth batch of cultural heritage sites protected at the provincial level in Jiangsu Province.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Cultural Heritage Sites Protected at the Provincial Level in Jiangsu Province