Dongchengdu Site

Dongchengdu Site

The Dongchengdu Site is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Anhui.

The Dongchengdu Site is located east of Lu'an City, Anhui Province, approximately 2 kilometers north of the Tomb of Gao Yao. It lies on the floodplain south of the main canal of the Pi-Shi-Hang Irrigation System. It is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Anhui.

*Commentary on the Water Classic* states: “The (Pi) River flows northwest past the west side of the former site of Liu'an County, which was once the territory of the Gao Yao Kingdom. Emperor Yu of the Xia Dynasty enfeoffed his youngest son there to continue ancestral worship. In the county’s Duobei Pond there is a large tomb, which locals call ‘Gongqin’—this is the tomb of Gao Yao.” *The Comprehensive Gazetteer* records: “The Tomb of Gao Yao (Jiuyao) is located 130 li south of Anfeng County in Shouzhou, east of the former Liu City, within a large tomb in the Duobei Pond.” In the early Tang Dynasty, the territory of Lu'an was not independent—its southern part belonged to Huoshan County, while the northern part belonged to Anfeng County, hence the reference to Anfeng County. Dongchengdu is the so-called “Eastern Ancient City” recorded in the *Lu'an Prefecture Records*. The Tongzhi edition of the *Lu'an Prefecture Records* states: “The Eastern Ancient City is ten li southeast of the prefecture.” The “County Capital” mentioned in *Commentary on the Water Classic*, the “Eastern Capital” in *The Comprehensive Gazetteer*, and the “Eastern Ancient City” in the *Lu'an Prefecture Records* all confirm that this site was once an ancient city.

In 1982 and 1983, Li Boqian, a lecturer from the History Department of Peking University, along with personnel from the Anhui Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute and the Anhui Provincial Museum, conducted investigations and preliminarily concluded that this site dates back to an early period, likely from the late Neolithic Age to the Western Zhou Dynasty. Protecting this site will provide valuable historical materials for the study of ancient cultures.

Over the years, experts in the field of history have, based on historical texts and archaeological findings, speculated that this site may be the original fiefdom of Gaoyao’s descendants in “Ying” and “Liu,” as recorded in *Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Xia*—the founding site of the “Liu Kingdom.”

The Dongchengdu Site was originally rectangular, measuring 310 meters from north to south and 220 meters from east to west. Due to river erosion and the excavation of the Pi-Shi-Hang main canal, its eastern wall has been completely destroyed. The remaining southern and western walls measure 9 meters in height. Adjacent to the southern wall and extending 480 meters southward is a man-made rammed earth embankment, 6.2 meters high, commonly known as the “Running Horse Ridge.” This ridge is planted with Masson pine trees and still retains remnants of trenches from the Liberation War period.

(1) Dongchengdu Site.

Protected Area: The site itself and the outer edges of its walls, extending 20 meters east, south, and west, and 5 meters north.

Construction Control Zone: Extending 50 meters east, west, and south beyond the protected area, and 5 meters north.

(2) Running Horse Ridge.

Protected Area: The ridge itself and an additional 30 meters outward on the east, south, and west sides.

Construction Control Zone: Same as the protected area.