Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster

Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster

The Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster is situated around the Iron Buddha Temple cliffs and Ancestral Hall Slope in Tiefo Village, Zizhi Township, Anyue County. The cliff tombs are found along both sides of the cliffs from Dayan Bridge over Yazi River to the Ancestral Hall Slope, covering a distance of one kilometer. There are 40 cliff tombs on the Ancestral Hall Slope. The tomb structures mostly consist of a passage, corridor, and burial chamber. The chambers are all single-chambered, with most roofs being arched, and a few taking the form of a gable roof. The burial chambers measure 2–5 meters in length, 2–3 meters in width, and 1.8–2.2 meters in height, each featuring a short corridor. The corridors are 0.5–1.2 meters deep, 1.2–1.5 meters high, and 0.8–1.5 meters wide. The passages vary in length depending on the terrain. Many tombs feature stone carvings with painted images along the corridors and inside the burial chambers. Architectural carvings include single watchtowers, double watchtowers, mother-and-child watchtowers, stilt-style buildings, watch platforms, and bracket sets; scenes of daily life depict horse herding, long-sleeved dancing, and fishing boats; mythological figures include Fuxi, Nuwa, the Four Symbols, and feathered beings. Tombs No. 2 and 3 on the Ancestral Hall Slope have the richest collection of carved images, which are exquisitely crafted and well-preserved. On the right wall of Tomb No. 2, the bracket set atop a stilt-style building features a human-shaped bracket with an exposed male genitalia—an extremely rare and unique detail.

The Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster includes more than 80 tombs in total, representing a typical example of cliff tomb complexes from the middle to late Eastern Han Dynasty. The widespread distribution, large scale, and unique, richly detailed stone carvings give this cluster particular representativeness and significance within the Tuojiang River basin. It holds significant research value for the archaeology of ancient cliff tombs, Han dynasty murals, and stone carving studies.

On October 10, 2006, the cultural relics bureau initiated the formal application process step by step. On June 25, 2007, with the approval of the Sichuan Provincial People’s Government, the Iron Buddha Temple Cliff Tomb Cluster was designated as a Provincial-Level Cultural Relics Protection Unit. In May 2013, it was included in the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Protected area: The area extends 30 meters beyond the distribution range of the cliff tomb cluster.

Construction control zone: The area extends 100 meters beyond the protected area.

Shiyang Town: Shiyang Town is located at 105.37°E longitude and 29.56°N latitude, approximately 44 kilometers from the county seat. The town covers a total area of 62.4 square kilometers, including 2,061.6 hectares of cultivated land—1,391.2 hectares of paddy fields and 670.4 hectares of upland. It administers 22 administrative villages, 225 villager groups, 26 residential groups, with a total of 15,699 households and a population of 50,644, of which 43,267 are agricultural residents.

[Natural Resources] The area features low hills and has a subtropical monsoon humid climate, characterized by mild weather and distinct seasons, with less rainfall in winter and spring. Throughout the year... More information about Shiyang Town++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units