Tonggu Fortress

铜鼓寨 Tonggu Fortress

蓬安铜鼓寨位于蓬安鲜店乡，距仪陇县城新政仅10公里。奇峰怪石，风光奇美。 Peng’an’s Tonggu Fortress is located in Xian’dian Township, Peng’an, just 10 kilometers from Xinzheng, the seat of Yilong County. The area boasts spectacular scenery with its peculiar peaks and oddly shaped rocks.

蓬安县西北的鲜店乡是革命老区。鲜店乡的东南有一座山，叫铜鼓山，寨子习惯称铜鼓寨。铜鼓寨在群山拱卫之中，四面峭削，高高耸立，可谓蜀北险山。 Xian’dian Township in the northwest of Peng’an County is a former revolutionary base. To the southeast of Xian’dian lies a mountain called Tonggu Mountain, and the fortress built upon it is commonly known as Tonggu Fortress. Surrounded by other peaks and surrounded by sheer cliffs, Tonggu Fortress stands tall and can be regarded as one of the most precipitous mountains in northern Sichuan.

铜鼓寨，山顶微凸而平，近5平方公里，山壁几乎全为悬崖绝壁，高约50丈，四门一闭，可称天险，南门上曾有对联，云： Tonggu Fortress features a slightly convex and flat mountaintop spanning nearly 5 square kilometers. Its cliffs—some 50 zhang (approximately 160 meters) high—are almost entirely vertical rock faces. When all four gates are closed, it becomes an impregnable stronghold. A pair of couplets once adorned the South Gate, which read:

此地巍峨，允矣，坚如铁柱；斯门险要，卓矣，固若铜城。 "This place is truly majestic, firm as an iron pillar; this gate is extraordinarily treacherous, solid as a castle forged from copper."

因为它险峻的地理形式，加上它地处古新政县至蓬州、渠州、通州的驿道旁，它一直是兵家必争之地。 Due to its perilous terrain and strategic location along the ancient courier route from Old Xinzheng County to Puzhou, Quzhou, and Tongzhou, Tonggu Fortress has long been a fiercely contested military stronghold.

晴天站在山上，好似站在高楼之顶，近处山沟山坡绿树中的村舍，几乎一一可数；远处薄雾中的新政、徐家、诸家等场镇历历在目。雨天站在山上，好似站在南天门上，山下被雨雾遮盖，仿佛一片汪洋大海，除了几个低矮的山峦犹似海中的小岛，剩下的只有苍苍茫茫。大雨之后四周山岩有喷珠溅玉的瀑布，飞流直下。铜鼓寨已成为蜀北风景名山旅游胜地。 On a clear day, standing atop the fortress feels like being on the roof of a tall building—nearby villages tucked amid tree-covered valleys and slopes are almost visible one by one, while distant market towns such as Xinzheng, Xujia, and Zhujia emerge clearly through the thin mist. On rainy days, it feels as if you’re standing at the Heavenly Southern Gate: the mountain below is veiled by rain and fog, resembling a vast ocean—only a few low hills stand out like tiny islands, with everything else shrouded in a hazy expanse. After heavy rainfall, waterfalls cascade down the surrounding rocky cliffs, splashing like pearls and jade. Tonggu Fortress has become a renowned scenic mountain and tourist destination in northern Sichuan.