Longyan City

Longyan City

Longyan City, also known as Ma'nao City, is located on Mazui Mountain, 38 kilometers southeast of Nanchuan District. Mazui Mountain is a spur extending northeast from Jinfo Mountain, and its shape resembles a majestic horse soaring through the sky, standing tall. At the "neck" of the horse, the mountain looks strikingly like a dragon’s head, and the gate of Longyan City was built right on this dragon head. The city is surrounded by cliffs on three sides, with only a single path leading up — truly a case of “one man at the gate can hold off ten thousand.” It holds significant strategic importance in military terms and has been a contested stronghold since ancient times.

The anti-Mongol ruins of Longyan City were built during the Southern Song Dynasty as a defensive fortress, covering an area of about 2,400 square meters. Remnants of walls, approximately 1.2 meters high, still stand, along with watchtowers and firing holes. The elevated terrain offers a broad field of vision. Beneath the “Ancient Cliff Inscription Stele” of Longyan City, there is a descriptive text recounting the construction: “In the fourth year of the Baoyou era of the Song Dynasty (1256), an imperial decree was issued to build four defensive cities in the southern region. Shi Qiejv, the defending officer of Nanping Army, followed the order to construct the fortress on Mazui Mountain. Construction began on the day of Dingmao in April and was completed on the day of Wuyin in June...”

The gate of Longyan City is built with strip-shaped stones in a circular arch shape. The door frame is 1.8 meters high and 1.26 meters wide. A long stone slab is inlaid above the lintel, engraved with three characters: “Pánlóng Zhài” (Coiling Dragon Fortress), each character about 30 centimeters in size. The inner top of the arch is also inlaid with a long stone slab, inscribed with double lines of small characters: “Built in the 4,611th year of the Yellow Emperor’s calendar, the year of Guichou (1253).”

In the sixth year of Baoyou (1258), Mongol Khan Möngke personally led an army of 800,000 soldiers in a grand invasion of Sichuan. The Mongol forces advanced rapidly, and the Song army either suffered defeat or surrendered. In the spring of 1259, this army — once hailed as “heaven-sent divine troops” for having conquered much of Europe — entered Fuzhou (now Fuling). Its main force camped 60 li west of Fuzhou in Linshi Town, while another Mongol unit advanced southwest all the way to the foot of Longyan City. The inscription reads: “In January, the rebel chieftain launched a heavy assault on the city. In February, they attacked again. The enemy envoys were beheaded, their forged letters burned, and the generals fought bravely, forcing the rebels to retreat. Captives were presented, and enemy heads were delivered — the feats were too many to record.” The Mongols attacked the city twice with full force over two months, but after prolonged assaults, they were repelled when the defenders rained down logs and rocks. The inscription states: “The court was informed of how the city held firm and repelled the enemy. The emperor bestowed repeated honors, and congratulatory letters from the highest officials arrived one after another. All agreed that this was the most remarkable achievement since the fortress was built.” Due to the valor of the Song defenders, they were commended by the emperor, and Longyan City was praised as “the foremost strategic stronghold of the region.”

On the left cliff of Liangfeng Ridge beneath Longyan City, there is an inscription written during the early years of the Republic of China when Yuan Shikai declared himself emperor. It was composed by a company commander named Zhao Mian under Yuan’s command. The inscription notes that although most provinces supported Yuan Shikai’s change of the national title to an imperial one, generals Cai E and Tang Jiyao from Yunnan and Guizhou refused to accept it, and thus “raised arms against Sichuan.” The 12th Company of the 60th Regiment of the 36th Brigade of the 15th Division of the Army was ordered to strike, arriving at Mazui in January of the fifth year of the Republic of China (1916). After two battles, by April 7, the Hongxian Emperor title was abolished, Yuan Shikai fell from power, and the northern troops withdrew. Zhao Mian defended Longyan City with just his single company, preventing Cai E and Tang Jiyao’s forces from capturing the city on two attempts.

The Longyan City Anti-Mongol Merit Stele is located about 30 meters to the right outside the city gate, carved into the cliff face. The stele is 3.5 meters high and 4.2 meters wide, with 257 characters in regular script, each character about 14 centimeters in size. The strokes are powerful and vigorous, ancient yet forceful. It was carved in the first year of the Kaqing era of the Southern Song Dynasty (1259). At the top of the stele, a horizontal groove about 5 meters long and 5 centimeters deep was carved to drain water and protect the inscriptions. Due to age and erosion, a few characters have become somewhat blurred. This is the earliest and most well-preserved epigraphic relic in Nanchuan, serving as a valuable historical artifact for studying the history of the Song and Yuan periods.