The Site of the Jin State in Houma

The Site of the Jin State in Houma

The Site of the Jin State in Houma is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Site of the Jin State in Houma

The Site of the Jin State in Houma (First Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units)

Era: Eastern Zhou Dynasty

Address: At the confluence of the Fenhe and Huihe Rivers in Houma City

The site lies to the south of Zijin Mountain and to the north of the Fenhe River, covering an area of approximately 35 square kilometers. It stretches from Shangma Village in the south to Beiwu Ancient City in the north, and from Taishen Village in the west to Fengcheng in the east. Within the Jin State site, the main discoveries include ancient city ruins, bronze-casting sites, ritual sites, covenant sites, ancestral temple architecture sites, and burial grounds.

The ancient city ruins mostly consist of the remains of palace foundations, including six ancient cities: Niucun, Pingwang, Taishen, Mazhuang, Chengwang, and Beiwu. The three larger cities—Niucun, Pingwang, and Taishen—located in the northwest of the site, are adjacent to each other in a triangular formation, with large rammed earth foundations still preserved. The bronze-casting site is situated to the south of Niucun Ancient City, covering an area of about 200,000 square meters. Ten ritual sites have been found, often grouped in sets of two or three pits arranged side by side. These pits are rectangular, usually wider at the mouth than at the base, and mainly contain the remains of horses, cattle, and sheep. The covenant site is located in the southeastern part of the Jin State site, covering an area of about 3,800 square meters, where over 5,000 covenant texts were unearthed. These texts document the struggles among the noble factions of the Jin State during the transition between the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The ancestral temple architecture site is about 1,000 meters north of the covenant site, where more than 100 large rammed earth architectural foundations have been discovered.

In addition, three ancient tomb clusters—Shangma, Xiapingwang, and Donggao—have been found within the Jin State site, all classified as “commoner tombs.” Another tomb site, Liquan Cemetery, discovered 1.5 kilometers southwest of the main site, is believed to be the burial ground for the ruling family of the Jin State.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units