Stone Carvings in Qianzhen Cave on Qia Mountain

Stone Carvings in Qianzhen Cave on Qia Mountain

The stone carvings in Qianzhen Cave on Qia Mountain are a protected cultural relic site of Shandong Province.

Stone Carvings in Qianzhen Cave on Qia Mountain

Located on the natural rock face of the northern mountainside, halfway up Qingliang Peak, the main peak of Tiesha Mountain in Xiangwan Village, Rongcheng City, the cave was artificially carved. The entrance faces south, featuring an oval floor plan, with a central stupa pillar inside. It is 2 meters high, 4 meters wide, and 6 meters deep. Above the cave entrance is the inscription “Qianzhen Cave,” carved in the fourth year of the Ming Wanli era (1576), and inside are 1,006 carved Buddha statues (originally known as the Thousand Buddha Cave). According to the Yuan Dynasty Zhiyuan Seventh Year (1347) “Record of the Reconstruction and Expansion of the Fufu Yanshou Palace” stele from Yun Guang Cave on Qia Mountain, and the Yuan Zhiyuan First Year (1341) “Record of the Reconstruction of Wangjiang Temple,” recorded in the Wanli-era draft and published Republican-era edition of the Wendeng County Annals, the Qianzhen Cave carvings date no later than 1341.

In front of the cave are the remnants of temple buildings, with partial structures rebuilt in 1992.

There is also Yun Guang Cave on Qia Mountain, located at the southern foot of Longjing Peak in Qia Mountain, Renhe Town, Rongcheng City. During the Jin Dynasty’s Dading era, Wang Yuyang, one of the Seven True Masters of the Quanzhen School of Taoism, once meditated here. The Fufu Yanshou Palace was originally built during the Jin Dading era (1161–1189) and underwent multiple renovations from the Yuan through the Ming Dynasties. During the Qing Dynasty’s Guangxu era, the Sanqing, Zhenwu, Guan Di, and Yaowang halls were reconstructed but were later destroyed in wars. They were rebuilt in 1992. Currently, remnants include restoration steles from Yuan Yuanyou Sixth Year, Zhiyuan Third Year, and Zhiyuan Seventh Year, as well as a Yuan Dynasty bell tower.

In July 1984, the Qia Mountain grotto temple (Qianzhen Cave) was listed as a county-level protected cultural relic site. In September 1988, it was elevated to a city-level protected cultural relic site, and in June 1992, it was further upgraded to a provincial-level protected cultural relic site.

Further reading:

· Second Batch of Shandong Provincial Protected Cultural Relic Sites