Dan Cheng Stone House and Cliff Inscriptions

Dan Cheng Stone House and Cliff Inscriptions

The Dan Cheng Stone House and Cliff Inscriptions are cultural relics protected at the county level in Xiangshan County.

The Dan Cheng Stone House and nearby cliff inscriptions, dating from the Ming and Qing dynasties, are located on the mountainside of Penglai Mountain, about 0.5 km northwest of the county town, facing southeast with the mountain at their back. The area is surrounded by lush bamboo and trees. The stone house is actually a natural cave formed by several large boulders, which has been modified. It is topped with a huge overhanging rock, with the right side of the cave walled by a massive boulder and the left side reinforced with a few stacked stones to form a wall. The rear wall bulges outward and slopes downward. According to the Daoguang-era Xiangshan County Annals, “The stone cave opens wide like a house and is so deep it can hold hundreds of people.”

Originally, there were eight scenic spots near the stone house, and today several cliff inscriptions remain: 30 meters to the east along a path is carved “Spring Outing Path”; 50 meters east are inscriptions including “Flying Sunset Cave,” “Cloud-Sleeping Valley,” and “Penglai Scenic Spot”; on the slope west of Yuexiang Nunnery near a small pool is carved “Heart-Cleansing Pool,” next to which is the inscription “Emotion-Shifting Terrace”; beside a small stream north of Yuexiang Nunnery is carved “Flowing Splendor Stream.” On a standing cliff above the pool is an inscription in clerical script by the famous calligrapher Qian Yong from the Qianlong period. On the southwest cliff is carved “Crane-Calling Peak.” Historical records indicate that literati and poets of various dynasties often climbed the mountain to enjoy the view and composed essays and poems, leaving behind many enduring works.