Site of Ande Prefecture City

Site of Ande Prefecture City

The site of Ande Prefecture City is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Liaoning Province.

The site of Ande Prefecture City is located in Wujiazi Village, Xiyangzi Township, Chaoyang County, Liaoning Province. The city site measures 800 meters in length and 600 meters in width. The northeast corner of the city wall is relatively well-preserved, with the existing sections being 1–2 meters wide and 2 meters high. The site is scattered with numerous bricks, tiles, and pottery shards, all dating back to the Liao Dynasty. There was originally a lantern tower from the Yuan Dynasty within the city, which was destroyed in 1971. In the cypress valley north of the city, there was a Liao Dynasty temple that housed a stone stele from the eighth year of the Qianyou era (1108 AD), inscribed with “The Stone Stele for the Founding of Lingyan Temple in Ande Prefecture, Zhongzhou Government,” which was also destroyed in 1972. Based on artifacts found at the site and records in the History of Liao, the city was initially built during the Liao Dynasty as Ande County, later upgraded to Ande Prefecture, and continued to be used through the Jin and Yuan periods before being abandoned. The existing Qingfeng Pagoda, a Liao Dynasty Buddhist pagoda, is located on Pagoda Mountain near the site. The pagoda is built of brick, square in shape with a hollow interior, featuring thirteen tiers of dense eaves and standing 36 meters tall, though it is now partially damaged. This pagoda is currently a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit (Batch 7, No. 932, 2013).

The History of Liao · Treatise 9 · Geography 3 · Central Capital Circuit states: “Ande Prefecture, Huaping Army, lower rank, prefectural level. It was established from Ande County of Bazhou and incorporated under its jurisdiction. It governed one county: Ande County. Established in the eighth year of the Tonghe era by relocating households from the Longshan and Tuhé areas southeast of Bazhou’s urban district. Initially subordinate to Qianguo Prefecture, it was later reassigned to Bazhou, and then the prefecture was established under its jurisdiction.”

Volume 6 of Records of Tazigou, Antiquities section, states: “On the summit of Baishan Mountain, there are remnants of ancient city walls on all four sides, including battlements and old artillery emplacements. Halfway up the mountain lie ruins of buildings with grand walls and secluded paths. At the front, there is an ancient well, and at the back, there remains a stone stele inscribed with ‘The Stone Stele for the Founding of Lingyan Temple in Ande Prefecture, Zhongzhou Government, of the Great Liao.’ Upon examination, it was built in the eighth year of the Qianyou era. The inscription mentions the open land around Fengtai Mountain and its connection to the north with Longxiu, as well as its facing toward the prefectural city. From this, we know that today’s Baishan is the ancient Fengtai, and today’s Phoenix Mountain is the ancient Longxiu.”

In 1988, the site of Ande Prefecture City was designated as a municipal-level cultural relics protection unit by the Chaoyang Municipal Government.

In 2007, the site of Ande Prefecture City was designated as a provincial-level cultural relics protection unit by the Liaoning Provincial Government (Batch 7, No. 24).

Protected area: within the city and within 30 meters outside the outer base of the city wall.

Construction control zone: Zone I extends 50 meters beyond the protected area, and Zone II extends 20 meters beyond Zone I.

Wujiazi Village: Wujiazi Village…… More information about Wujiazi Village++

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units in Liaoning Province