Xincheng West Mountain Cliff

Xincheng West Mountain Cliff is located at the eastern foothills of West Mountain, about 5 kilometers west of Chengguan Town in Xincheng County. The cliff is 5 meters high, 30 meters deep, and 3 to 5 meters wide. It consists of two interconnected caves, north and south, featuring a myriad of rock formations. A visible vein of stone runs through the middle, resembling a dragon’s spine—hence it is also known as Dragon Hidden Cliff or Dragon Hidden Cave. In the past, pavilions, towers, and Buddhist temples were built here, with Buddha statues erected inside the cave. Cliff inscriptions on the rock face include the “Poem on Visiting West Mountain with Preface” by Lin Yi, the magistrate of Xincheng during the ShaoSheng era of the Song Dynasty (1094–1097) (a rubbing of which is now housed in the Beijing Capital Library), the “Record of Meritorious Deeds at West Mountain,” and the poem “Welcoming the Sunshine Pavilion.” There are also works from the Ming Dynasty such as the “Prose for the Welcoming the Sunshine Pavilion,” “Record of West Mountain,” and “Visiting West Mountain Temple” by Mo Yuanxiang, the Tusi (local chieftain) of Xincheng. Due to the vicissitudes of history, the pavilions, temples, and Buddha statues have been destroyed, and the cliff inscriptions have also been damaged. In 1984, the cliff was designated as a county-level key cultural relics protection unit.