Hongshanhou Settlement Site

Hongshanhou Settlement Site

The Hongshanhou Settlement Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Hongshanhou Settlement Site is located on the eastern slopes and southern slopes of the northernmost peak of Hongshan Mountain, on the eastern bank of the Yingjin River northeast of Chifeng City. It boasts rich cultural significance. Artifacts unearthed here include clay red pottery jars, painted pottery bowls, basins, and cups from the Neolithic-era "Hongshan Culture," as well as sand-tempered pottery jars with "zigzag" patterns. Stone tools consist of polished stone plows, rubbing sticks, and microliths. From the Bronze Age "Xiajiadian Culture," there are polished brown pottery tripods with plain surfaces, gray rope-patterned pottery jars, sand-tempered plain red pottery jars, and tripods.

The Hongshan Culture site drew attention from experts both in China and abroad as early as the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908, Japanese researcher Torii Ryūzō investigated several Neolithic sites along the Yingjin River north of Chifeng City. In 1933, Japanese national Mutō Tetsuji stole important artifacts such as pottery, stone tools, and bronze ware excavated from the Hongshan area and presented them to Ushijima Torajirō at Tokyo Imperial University. Later, he conducted surveys with Tottori Morio and Kaneko Kenji, and looted some of the relics to donate to the Japanese Society for East Asian Archaeology. In the autumn of the same year, the "Manchurian-Mongolian Survey Team" led by Tokunaga Shigeyasu arrived in Chifeng and excavated the Hongshan site. In 1935, members of the Japanese Society for East Asian Archaeology, including Hamada Kōsaku, carried out large-scale excavations and looted a significant number of artifacts. Subsequently, the book "Chifeng Hongshanhou" was published.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Chinese archaeologists conducted further scientific investigations and excavations of the Hongshan Culture, gaining a comprehensive understanding of its significance. According to carbon-14 dating, the Hongshan Culture dates back to around 5,500 years ago. The people of that time led an economy primarily based on agriculture and developed a relatively advanced primitive agricultural civilization, which holds great importance for the study of the prehistoric society in Chifeng and the northeastern region.