Ruins of Shile City

Ruins of Shile City

The Ruins of Shile City is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Shanxi Province.

Ruins of Shile City

Ruins of Shile City (Third Batch of Provincial-Level Protected Sites)

Era: Jin Dynasty

Location: 28 kilometers northeast of Xiangyuan County, at Chengdi Village, Xiyingshan Town

According to the 1782 (Qing Dynasty, Qianlong 47th Year) "Xiangyuan County Annals": "In the second year of the Daxing era (319 AD) during the Jin Dynasty, Shi Le occupied Xiangguo, proclaimed himself King of Zhao, later attacked Shangdang, and built a city north of Chengdi Village to store fodder and grain, the foundation of which still remains." The Xiyingshan Town to the west of the ruins was where Shi Le stationed his troops; the Hujiaonao Village to the northeast was where his guards were stationed; and the Huaguoyuan Village to the east was his garden. The surrounding villages were all named due to their association with Shi Le’s imperial city.

The ruins face south and measure 1,000 meters from north to south and 500 meters from east to west. Most of the earthen foundations of the surrounding walls can still be identified. The existing walls run east-west. The remaining wall section is 27 meters long, 6 meters high, and 6 meters wide at the base. The walls were built from rammed earth, with ramming pits 8–9 cm in diameter and layers 9–11 cm thick. Within the site, remnants such as the Temple of Heaven, ancient wells, cave sites, various pottery shards, architectural components, and three-edged arrowheads have been preserved. The cultural layer reaches a maximum thickness of 4 meters. The site is well-preserved and serves as an important physical relic for studying the settlement of the Jie people from the Central Plains and the establishment of their kingdom during the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period.

Xiyingshan Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Xiangyuan County. Established as Xiyingshan Commune in 1958 and became a town in 1984. Located in the northern part of the county, 27 kilometers from the county seat. It covers an area of 70 square kilometers with a population of 12,000. The Xia-Zhang and Wang-Long highways pass through the town. The town administers 23 village committees: Xiyingshan, Wubei, Niulanghe, Xinmin, Changjiaping, Guanyan, Luzhou’ao, Dongshang, Ciyaotou, Fengqu, Nanping, Chengdi, Yijie, Guogou, Hujiaonao, Huaguoyuan, Cuijialing, Ma’anshan, Nanyan, Baonao, Guojiaonao, Nanzhang, and Huabaguo. The main agricultural products are wheat, corn, and millet. ... More details about Xiyingshan Town ++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Heritage Protection Units