Site of Mazhai Fort

Site of Mazhai Fort

The Site of Mazhai Fort is a cultural heritage protection unit of Shandong Province.

The Site of Mazhai Fort is located in Beizhai Village, Laishan District, Yantai City. It dates back to the Ming Dynasty. On December 7, 2006, the site was designated as part of the third batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units by the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

Mazhai Fort was once an ancient coastal military stronghold. During the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty, in order to guard against Japanese pirates, the government stationed a large military force here. Originally named Mazhan Mountain, the fortress and defensive works built by the Ming government were referred to as Mazhai Fort. Due to the fort’s considerable size, the mountain was renamed Dazhai Mountain. It is said that during the 1950s and 1960s, remnants of the Ming-era barracks and city walls could still be found on Dazhai Mountain. Today, the top of Dazhai Mountain still features a smoke beacon tower (i.e., a signal fire tower) built during the Ming Dynasty. Two stone tablets have been erected here — one marking the beacon tower as a “Provincial-Level Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit” and the other designating the Mazhai Fort site as a “Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit,” both established by the Shandong Provincial People's Government. Dazhai Mountain stretches 2 kilometers from east to west, 1.2 kilometers from north to south, and has an elevation of 74 meters. Its summit is a relatively flat plateau, approximately 200 meters long and wide. It is said that at the center of the plateau there used to be a platform for marshaling troops, while the beacon tower was built at the highest point.

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units