Huoshan Siwang Mountain

Huoshan Siwang Mountain

Siwang Mountain has been known by this name since ancient times. As beautiful as Mount Nanyue and as graceful as Mount Heng, it was praised by ancient people as: "The most elegant between Mount Heng and Mount Nanyue." The mountaintop covers an area of one square kilometer, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides, making the terrain extremely rugged. With an elevation of 1,396 meters, Siwang Mountain stands tall amidst the ranges of Dahuaiping Town and is one of the high peaks of the Dabie Mountains. It borders Huiyang River to the west and Majia River to the east. A single peak towers high while surrounding ridges encircle and suppress it, creating a precipitous and towering sight. From the summit, one can overlook the landscape for dozens of square miles around.

Siwang Fort is located at the top of Maoding Mountain, with an elevation of 1,396 meters, and is one of the high peaks of the Dabie Mountains. It is an extension of the Duoyunjian mountain range extending northward, serving as the southeastern barrier of Dahuaiping Town in Huoshan. It faces Mozitan to the east, while the other three sides belong to the Dahuaiping area. At an elevation of 1,396 meters, on clear days, climbing to the top allows one to see four counties: Huoshan, Lu'an, Qianshan, and Yingshan—hence the name "Siwang Mountain" (Mountain of Four Views). It has been known by this name since ancient times. As beautiful as Mount Nanyue and as graceful as Mount Heng, it was praised by ancient people as: "The most elegant between Mount Heng and Mount Nanyue." The mountaintop covers an area of one square kilometer, surrounded by steep cliffs on all sides, making the terrain extremely rugged. With an elevation of 1,396 meters, Siwang Mountain stands tall amidst the ranges of Dahuaiping Town and is one of the high peaks of the Dabie Mountains. It borders Huiyang River to the west and Majia River to the east. A single peak towers high while surrounding ridges encircle and suppress it, creating a precipitous and towering sight. From the summit, one can overlook the landscape for dozens of square miles around.

"Siwang Fort" is located at the top of Siwang Mountain in Dahuaiping Town. A solitary peak towers high while surrounding ridges encircle it, creating a precipitous and towering sight. From the summit, the landscape for dozens of square miles around can be seen in its entirety. Siwang Fort was originally used to counter rebel forces. Before liberation, it was the most famous bandit fort in the Dabie Mountains. The fort walls were built with stone blocks, most of which have now collapsed. The walls were constructed along the mountain ridge, with a relative height of about 6 meters, a width of 1.5 meters, and a total circumference of approximately 2,000 meters. The mountain ridge runs from north to south. The outer side of the wall is steep and dangerous, while the inner side is slightly flatter, with the wider sections being less than 100 meters and the narrower ones about 30 meters. Along the walls at intervals, small stone chambers were built, resembling bunkers. On the inner side of the stone walls, "convex"-shaped gun ports were carved outward from the stone, serving both observation and firing purposes.

Starting in the 7th year of the Xianfeng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1857), the Taiping Army and the Nian Army closely cooperated, campaigning across the Hubei-Anhui region, and occupied the Huoshan County seat several times, forcing County Magistrate Zhang Zu to relocate the county government to Liuwanzhai. According to the inscriptions on two steles embedded in the south gate’s gable wall—"Huoshan County Magistrate Zhang Yu’s Record of Fort Repairs" and "Register of Siwang Fort Households"—the fort was built in the 11th year of the Xianfeng reign (1861) under the magistrate’s orders. The walls were built with stone blocks, and some parts have already collapsed. The wall sits on the mountain ridge, with a relative height of about 6 meters, a width of 1.5 meters, and a total circumference of approximately 2,000 meters. The ridge runs from north to south. The outer side of the wall is steep and dangerous, while the inner side is slightly flatter, with the wider sections being less than 100 meters and the narrower ones about 30 meters. Stone chambers, resembling bunkers, were built at intervals along the wall. In 1999, Siwang Fort was listed as a Provincial-Level Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Anhui.

The fort is equipped with gates to the north and south, perimeter walls, and watchtowers. The south gate has two levels, standing seven meters high and about five meters wide. The gateway is approximately four meters deep. The upper level serves as a watch platform, with three observation holes that allow a clear view of the surrounding area. The rooftop is constructed with strip stones in a ridged pattern, with the ridge resembling a small pavilion, giving it a distinct ethnic flavor. The lower level is the main gate, which is semicircular in shape, with the words "秀冠衡南" (The Most Elegant Between Mount Heng and Mount Nanyue) carved in strong, upright regular script on the stone slab below. On the inner side, there are two rectangular white stone tablets on either side, with clearly legible inscriptions. About 1,000 meters to the east of the south gate stands a gun emplacement covering an area of over 20 square meters, with 11 gun ports carved into three outward-facing sides.

In 1963, the Nanjing Military Region established a nighttime aerial observation post in the middle of this mountain, staffed year-round with personnel taking turns guarding it day and night, with direct telephone access to the county. With the further development of modern national defense construction, this post was abandoned in 1979.

Although this is a rocky mountain, the rocks are not visible from afar, as even the crevices and cracks among the rocks are covered by towering trees. About a hundred meters down the steep path from this gate lies a flat area called "Beimen Dang," covering an area of about three square kilometers. Before the founding of the People’s Republic of China, this area was covered in lush wild grass and served as a natural pasture where local farmers freely grazed their livestock. In 1972, Qingfengling Township established a forest farm here, which was later negotiated and incorporated into state-owned land. Today, the former grassy hills have been cultivated, and new plantations of pine and fir saplings are lush and green, with an average height of over six meters. Extending westward from Beimen Dang for about a mile is another hilltop called "Xiao Siwang Shan" (Little Siwang Mountain), which has also been fully afforested.