Dengyun Slope

Dengyun Slope

Dengyun Slope is a cultural heritage site protected by Anqing City.

Dengyun Slope is located in the Shengtang Mountain area, and its steep incline ranks first in height and length among the “Thirteen Slopes.” Since the city’s founding, it has served as a key thoroughfare connecting to the urban area. At the intersection of Dakaimen Street, the two slopes extending eastward and southward indicate the orientation of Shengtang Mountain. To the north, it connects to Sipailou and leads directly to Luba Street and Shuangjing Street, reaching the Linghu Scenic Area. Heading south along the slope takes you to the Shengtang City Gate (also known as the Zhengnan Gate), adjacent to the ancient ferry crossing at Shengtang Bay on the Yangtze River. To the east, a rugged path extends to Xiaonanmen, while to the west it connects to Renjiapo Street. It can be said that Dengyun Slope is a well-connected hub, serving as a convergence point for transportation routes leading in all directions from the old city.

Historical records indicate that the name “Anqing” originated in the 17th year of the Shaoxing era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1147), when the Anqing Military Prefecture was established and later elevated to a prefectural level, with its seat located in Qianshan. In the 10th year of the Jiading era (1217), due to invasions by foreign tribes, Prefect Huang Gan built a brick city south of Daling Mountain, at the foot of Shengtang Mountain, and north of the Shengtang River ferry crossing, as a defensive stronghold, relocating the prefectural government there. Although traces of the original brick city built during the Southern Song period in Anqing are now scarce, Dengyun Slope at Shengtang Mountain remains the sole surviving marker of the ancient city site, offering rich material for later generations’ imagination and for historical and cultural scholars to study and verify.