Dingling Ancient Site

Dingling Ancient Site

The Dingling Ancient Site is a cultural relic protection unit of Weixian County.

Eight li northwest of Weixian County lies Dagao Temple Village, and one li northwest of that village is Xiaogao Temple Village. Between the two villages stands a large earthen mound, 20 meters high and 54 meters in circumference. This mound is the tomb of Liu Ruyi, the Guangzong King of the Western Han Dynasty, known as Dingling. Originally, there was another mound to the west of the tomb, which served as the burial site for his concubines, but it gradually eroded and disappeared over time. On the Dingling mound, there used to be an ancient temple, with grand stone tablets and steles outside the temple, rows of terracotta figures and horses in front of the tomb, and towering ornamental pillars. There was also an ancient cypress tree with dense foliage, about three people’s arms’ length in girth, believed to be from the Tang Dynasty. During the “Cultural Revolution,” the tree was cut down, and the temple, tablets, and stones were all lost. The current temple on the mound was built in modern times. In 1984, Dingling was listed as a county-level key cultural relic protection unit.