Chengzi Mountain Ruins

Chengzi Mountain Ruins

The Chengzi Mountain Ruins are a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chengzi Mountain Mountain City is situated on the eastern mountain, 4 kilometers southeast of Halagou Village, Saliba Township, Aohan Banner, at the border with Manihan Township. It gets its name "Chengzi Mountain" (City Mountain) because the top of the mountain is surrounded by stone walls resembling a city. Three kilometers northwest of the mountain city lies the Saren Nuor Yuan Moon Lake Tourist Area, 10 kilometers northeast is the Buddhist pagoda of Jiangshengzhou from the Liao Dynasty, and to the south, it is only 30 kilometers from the banner government seat—Xinhui Town. The main peak where the mountain city is located is the highest peak on the southern edge of the Songliao Plain, surrounded by nearby peaks arranged in a well-distributed, moon-surrounded-by-stars-like pattern. Centered around Chengzi Mountain, it forms a 15-square-kilometer cultural and landscape tourism area.

Chengzi Mountain Mountain City is elliptical and rectangular in shape, with an irregular “sub”-shaped layout on the plane. The northern, eastern, and western sides of the city are slightly circular, while the southern side is roughly rectangular. The terrain at the top of the city is relatively flat, slightly higher in the northwest and slightly lower in the southeast. The main ridge is 2.2 kilometers long, running from northwest to southeast. There are seven ridges on the western side and three on the eastern side, all connecting to the main ridge. The city is up to 3 kilometers wide at its broadest point. The central citadel at the top of the main peak covers a total area of 150,000 square meters. The mountain city is surrounded by stone walls and features stone retaining walls. There are nine gates in total, with the stone wall perimeter measuring 1,310 meters and a width of 2 meters. Based on the internal layout and surface stone remains, the city can be divided into six zones: the central zone, east zone, north zone, west zone, south zone, and southeast zone. These zones are separated by stone walls but connected via gateways. Within the inner walls, the six zones contain a total of 228 circular stone structures, while four are located outside the main walls, totaling 232. Stone clusters and polished round-holed stones have been found both to the north and east of the city. In the southwest part of the city, a giant stone-carved boar head was discovered. The carving is simple yet fluid, with distinct edges, an upturned snout, an open mouth, and round, lifelike eyes. It faces the Ya Ji Mountain, which lies 7 kilometers directly to the south.

According to joint investigations and surveys conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Archaeological Research Institute, and Aohan Banner, Chengzi Mountain Mountain City is the largest, best-preserved, and most structurally complex mountain city discovered so far in northern China, with the clearest exposed relics. It is also the first discovered ultra-large-scale mountain city of the Lower Xiajiadian Culture in Northeast China. Only a massive national effort could have completed such an ambitious project. Scholars believe that the numerous stone enclosures, square courtyards, and densely concentrated structures within the city represent central ritual sites of the Lower Xiajiadian Culture. This provides important material for studying the evolution of ancient societies, the formation of states and cities, religious beliefs, and social changes. In 2001, it was designated as part of the fifth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Fifth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units