Stone Fortress

The Stone Fortress is located 33 kilometers southeast of Ruoqiang County, on the east side of the water intake of the Shankou Hydropower Station on the Ruoqiang River. The ruins are built atop an isolated peak, whose summit has been artificially leveled — featuring three sheer cliffs and one connecting ridge, roughly forming a “T” shape. The ground has been flattened, with low-lying areas and steep cliffs filled in using stone slabs. On the eastern and northern sides of the site, stones were piled up from the Ruoqiang River valley all the way to the peak, forming a vertical stone wall 100 meters high. The eastern part contains remnants of houses, while the western part features larger structures, including a circular formation built with gray bricks and stones, standing 2 meters high with a diameter of 10 meters. There is a gap on the south side, inside which red pottery shards, fragments of ironware, slag, broken crucibles, and many finely crafted small square stone pieces have been found. The Stone Fortress is a garrison fortress ruin dating back to the Tang Dynasty and is classified as a regional-level cultural heritage site. Based on its geographical location, it is speculated that the site may have been an ancient secret munitions factory or “weapons research and development” base, similar in nature to today’s Malan Base. The circular structure within the ruins has been mistakenly referred to by locals as a “princess tomb,” which is why the local people also call the Stone Fortress the Princess Tomb.