Nanjing Yue Fei's Anti-Jin Ancient Ramparts

Nanjing Yue Fei's Anti-Jin Ancient Ramparts

Nanjing Yue Fei's Anti-Jin Ancient Ramparts

In April of the fourth year of the Jianyan era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1130), "Wuzhu advanced toward Jiankang, and Yue Fei set an ambush on Niushou Mountain to await him." The so-called "ancient ramparts" are the remnants left by Yue Fei during the great battle on Niushou Mountain. Later, they were also utilized during the battles between the Taiping Rebellion forces and the Qing army.

Nanjing Yue Fei's Anti-Jin Ancient Ramparts are situated along the ridges of Niushou Mountain and Hanfu Mountain in the southern suburbs of Nanjing. The mountain ridges feature many exposed rocks and are quite rugged. In the crevices of these naturally exposed rocks, there are relatively clear traces of artificially piled-up structures connected to them. Due to the long passage of time, most of the surrounding areas consist of collapsed and scattered stones. This section is approximately 300 meters long.

Niushou Mountain, commonly known as Ox Head Mountain, is located amid rolling hills about 15 kilometers south of Nanjing city, with its peak reaching 243 meters above sea level and covering an area of about 5 square kilometers. Due to its steep terrain and strategically important location, it has historically been a contested military site. Hanfu Mountain lies to the north of Niushou Mountain, stretching for several miles. It starts near the Qinhuai River, about 500 meters east of Touxin Bridge, and connects closely with Niushou Mountain to the south. Together, Niushou Mountain and Hanfu Mountain form a natural barrier in the southern suburbs of Nanjing.

Approximately 50 meters in front of the third peak from the north, the ancient ramparts take on a “T” shape. Originally, a narrow path along the western side of the ramparts crossed over them leading to the peak. The east-west oriented ramparts are relatively intact, standing about 1 meter high. From the intersection of the “T” shaped ramparts, about 200 meters eastward down to the mountain foot, there is a mud pond where the ramparts terminate at the edge of the pond; about 5,000 meters westward, there is a mountain stream, and another 150 meters beyond that lies a valley between two mountains. Here, the ramparts are about 1 meter high and 1.5 meters wide, neatly stacked, covered in moss, winding continuously along the valley until they naturally disappear at the mountain foot. The mountain foot is the site of the Xiaonanhai Sand Field in Dingfang Village. The east-west oriented ramparts extend for about 1,000 meters.

Continuing southward along the mountain ridge, there are more than 1,000 meters of relatively intact ancient ramparts. About 400 meters away from the so-called Ox Eye and Ox Nose peaks of the main summit of Niushou Mountain, the stone ramparts gradually disappear. This over 2,000-meter-long anti-Jin rampart has one distinct feature: the natural growth of plants such as devil’s thorn, mountain bamboo, thatch, and vines on both sides of the ramparts forms a protective “barrier,” helping to preserve the ramparts in relatively good condition.

Yue Fei (1103–1142), courtesy name Pengju, was a native of Tangyin in Xiangzhou (now part of Henan Province), and an outstanding military strategist and general of the Northern Song Dynasty.

Yue Fei’s father, Yue He, and mother, Lady Yao, were generations of farmers. In his youth, Yue Fei studied archery and spear techniques under Zhou Tong and Chen Guang respectively, becoming the most skilled martial artist in the county. However, due to his family’s poverty, he later went to Xiangzhou (now Anyang), “working as a farmhand for the estate of Han Wei Gong (Qi) to make a living.”

In the early fourth year of the Xuanhe era (1122), Yue Fei first joined the army. In October of the same year, during the Northern Song campaign against the Liao, he reached the Liao capital of Yanjing... More detailed information about Yue Fei ++