Fenghuanggang Longshan Culture Site

Fenghuanggang Longshan Culture Site

The Fenghuanggang Longshan Culture Site is a cultural heritage protection unit of Henan Province.

The Fenghuanggang Longshan Culture Site is located 300 meters northeast of Gucheng Village, Gucheng Township, Fugou County. It stretches 700 meters from north to south and 300 meters from east to west, with a height of 5 meters. It lies south of the Gucheng Township government office, and is bordered by open land to the east, west, and north, with a winding path running through the middle of the mound.

When you visit Gucheng Township, the Fenghuanggang Site is not to be missed. According to the "Zhoukou Cultural Relics Archaeological Research and Exploration," the Fenghuanggang Site is located 17.5 kilometers southwest of (Fugou) county town, at the northeast corner of Gubei Village, Gucheng Township, 300 meters away. The site is approximately 700 meters long from north to south and 300 meters wide from east to west, with a height of about 5 meters. A path in the middle divides the site into two parts — the northern part has been more than half destroyed, while the southern part is relatively well-preserved.

Arriving in Gucheng Township, Fugou County. Traveling north along a rural path for about a kilometer, you’ll find a trail that splits what should be a continuous high mound in two. “This must be the Fenghuanggang Site.” The mound is situated on higher ground, about 5 meters above the surrounding area, and is densely planted with poplar trees. Following a rugged path, we climbed up one of the mounds on the southern side of the road. Along the way, I picked up a pottery shard with simple yet elegant linear patterns etched onto it.

From the top of the mound, the lush green wheat fields stretch out as far as the eye can see. Apart from a few tombs, there are also several exposed looting pits on the mound. Some smaller pits, buried under fallen leaves, are not easily noticeable. The larger pits don’t appear to be newly dug — some have slightly collapsed due to rain erosion, others have formed mud clumps around tree roots, and some still reveal exposed tomb bricks. Additionally, on the western part of the mound north of the road, we also discovered a damaged looting pit.

It is understood that although artifacts from the Fenghuanggang Site have been excavated by cultural relics authorities, there is still a possibility that unscrupulous individuals may attempt illegal digging, driven by luck. No provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit stele was found near the Fenghuanggang Site. However, guided by a township government worker, we found a toppled stele inscribed with “Henan Province Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit” in front of the courtyard of an abandoned distillery. Like an elderly person in the twilight of life, it quietly watches over this ancient site.

In December 1978, the survey team of the Zhoukou Regional Cultural Bureau discovered a large number of colored ceramic shards, various stone tools, deer antlers, animal bones, and Han Dynasty tomb artifacts within the broken walls of the mound. These ceramic fragments included hand-made pottery with straight or basket-shaped rims in reddish-brown colors, plain red-brown pottery jars, flat-bottomed black pottery bowls, as well as triangular and cylindrical ding legs, gray pottery dou (food vessels), pottery li (tripod cauldrons), pottery hu (jars), pottery figurines, and hollow bricks. After identification, these items were determined to date back to the Longshan period, as well as the Shang, Zhou, and Han Dynasties.

Source: Fugou Government Affairs Website

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Henan Province Cultural Relics Protection Units