Daguan Fort

Daguan Fort

Daguan Fort is a cultural relic protection unit of Hunan Province.

Daguan Fort

In 2007, the third national cultural relics survey made a major discovery—two ancient fort clusters were found in Xintian County. One cluster centers around Daguan Fort on Daguan Ridge in Maoli Township, with Daguan Fort, Xinzailing Fort, Dali Fort, Baiwan Castle, Longxing Fort, Longxiu Fort, Lingxiao Fort, and Lion Watch Moon Fort distributed within a 5-kilometer radius. The other cluster centers around “Southern China’s Wudang Mountain” in Shiyang Township, with Longtan Fort, Guniugang Fort, Baimizhai Fort, Shigu Zhai Fort, Feilong Fort, and Ledawan Fort scattered among the surrounding mountains. These two fort clusters are relatively independent yet mutually supportive, overlooking each other. Each fort is visible from the central one, forming a pattern of “stars surrounding the moon.”

Among them, Daguan Fort is located at the highest point of the surrounding ridges, at an altitude of 685 meters. The fort contains 17 room foundations, covering a total area of 7,000 square meters. The inner wall is 346 meters long, with remnants about 4 meters high (originally 5–6 meters), and the walkway atop the wall averages around 2 meters in width. In addition to the rooms, there are two water storage pools inside the fort. Each pool is approximately 10 meters in length and width, and about 5–6 meters deep, with a capacity of 500–600 cubic meters per pool. The entire fortress is built from exquisitely crafted blue stone slabs, some weighing just a few hundred kilograms, others up to two thousand kilograms. Among the ancient forts discovered so far, Daguan Fort is the best-preserved site in the province. Experts have determined that the fort was likely built during the Ming Dynasty.

Regarding the origins of the fort, expert groups have proposed various theories. Some suggest it was a military project built by local authorities to defend against the Yao people, others believe it was a palace established by the Ming Dynasty's Jianwen Emperor during his escape, and some think it may have been an ancient Yao village.

Currently, the Xintian ancient fort cluster has been submitted for consideration as a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Further Reading:

· Ninth Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Hunan Province