Site of Yaoshan Ancient City

Yaoshan Ancient City Site

The Yaoshan Ancient City Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Hebei Province.

The Site of Yaoshan Ancient City is located underground in Yaocheng Town, about 6 kilometers southwest of Longyao County. It covers an area of approximately 1 square kilometer, bordered to the north by the ?? River, with Yaoshan and Xuannu Mountains 4 kilometers to the northwest, and the former course of the ?? River before the Ming Dynasty 1 kilometer to the west. Before the Tang Dynasty, this area was a sizable settlement under the jurisdiction of Bairi County. In the first year of the Tianbao era of the Tang Dynasty (742 AD), the city of Bairi was destroyed by a flood, prompting the relocation of the county seat to this site, which was then renamed Yaoshan County. It enjoyed over 360 years of prosperity until the second year of Daguan during the Northern Song Dynasty (1108 AD), when the county seat was again submerged by a flood. In the 1930s, road construction about 200 meters north of the current Yaoshan Ancient City uncovered remnants of city wall battlements and cooking stove foundations underground. In the 1970s, during the digging of an underground shelter, brick-and-stone gate remains were discovered about 20 meters south of the present southern gate, more than a zhang below the surface. This indicates that the Yaoshan city from the Tang and Song periods is well-preserved underground, likely containing rich cultural content and providing complete and valuable physical evidence for the study of urban planning and architecture during those dynasties.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units in Hebei Province