Erguna Heishantou Ruins

Erguna Heishantou Ruins

The Erguna Heishantou Ruins is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Heishantou Ruins are an ancient city from the Yuan Dynasty, located on the eastern bank of the Erguna River in the Erguna Banner of the Hulunbuir League. They are considered the birthplace of the Mongolian people. The Yuan Dynasty-built Heishantou Ancient City ruins serve as a historical testament to the origins of the Mongolian people, though some believe it to be a Liao Dynasty site.

The Heishantou Ancient City is located on the eastern terrace of the marshland where the Genhe and Derbul Rivers flow into the Erguna River, within the territory of the Right Banner of Erguna. It sits against mountains and faces water, right at the junction of the Greater Khingan Mountains and the Hulunbuir Grassland. The ancient city borders the Genhe River to the south and the Derbul River to the north. Its strategic terrain made it defensible and controllable, serving as an ancient gateway to the northern grasslands and a vital passage in and out of the steppe.

The ancient city is located about 10 kilometers northwest of Heishantou and is named after the area. It consists of an inner city and an outer city, both with earthen walls.

The outer city is square-shaped, with a perimeter of 2.35 kilometers and covering an area of 346,290 square meters. The remaining wall height ranges from 1 to 2 meters, reaching up to over 4 meters at its highest points. The top of the wall is 2 meters wide, while the base is 6 meters wide. Outside the wall is a moat, which is 5–9 meters wide at the bottom and 1–2 meters deep. There are gates on all four sides, each gate structure being 9–12 meters wide. Outside each gate is a barbican, and approximately every 100 meters along the wall there is a battlement. At the corners of the wall, there are prominent watchtowers that jut out from the main structure.

The inner city is located slightly northwest of the center of the outer city, rectangular in shape, with a perimeter of 560 meters and covering an area of 18,871 square meters. It has two small gates on the east and west sides, and there is also a moat outside the city. The entire site is laid out in a “gan” (dry) character pattern. On the ground, circular granite column bases are arranged in an orderly fashion, spaced 4 meters apart. Scattered across the site are fragments of glazed tiles, blue bricks, dragon-patterned tile ends, and green-glazed pedestal covers.