Spider Mountain Ruins

Spider Mountain Ruins

The Spider Mountain Ruins are a cultural tourism attraction.

The Spider Mountain Ruins are located on Spider Mountain west of the Old North Bridge in the Chifeng district. In 1963, they were excavated by the Inner Mongolia Working Team of the Archaeological Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The cultural layers at the site reach a thickness of 6–8 meters, encompassing three distinct historical periods: the Neolithic Age, the Xiajiadian Culture, and the Qin-Han period. The Neolithic cultural layer yielded precious artifacts such as painted pottery from the Hongshan Culture. The Qin-Han period cultural layer produced a standard Qin Dynasty measuring vessel — a Qin earthenware measuring container. Its surface bears the “edict” issued by the First Emperor of Qin in the 26th year of his reign (221 BC) when he standardized weights and measures across the empire. This artifact serves as valuable physical evidence of the Qin Dynasty’s unification of China and its reach into the Chifeng region (including Liaoxi Commandery and Youbeiping Commandery), providing important material for the study of ancient geographical boundaries in Northeast China. The Spider Mountain Ruins (charcoal sample H42) date back to 3965±90 years ago, with tree-ring calibration indicating an age of 4360±140 years. The charcoal used for dating was taken from the site’s earliest stratigraphic layer.