Tiecage Mountain

　　Tiecage Mountain is located 15 kilometers south of the county town. Traveling south along the Shicao Highway, you will see a solitary, steep mountain rising abruptly against the sky, towering and perilous, resembling an upturned teapot. The Xihan River flows around its southern side, with rapid currents churning and echoing through the valley. The shape of the mountain resembles a birdcage, hence the name Tiecage Mountain. In ancient times, Jiang Wei fought a great battle here against Sima Zhao. After Zhuge Liang’s death, Jiang Wei was appointed as Grand General of the Shu Han kingdom. To fulfill Zhuge Liang’s unfinished ambitions, he raised troops in Hanzhong and stationed them at Tiecage Mountain, planning to attack Qishan again and advance toward the Central Plains. Jiang Wei built fortresses and tunnels on the mountain, set up camps and the central command tent in front of the mountain, adopting a drawn-bow stance, waiting for the Wei army to engage in battle. He sent out two hundred soldiers with wooden oxen and flowing horses to transport provisions, luring the enemy out. Unaware of the ruse, Sima Zhao dispatched Xu Zhi with five thousand troops to launch a surprise attack and cut off their food supply. The Shu soldiers took the opportunity to abandon the supplies and flee. Xu Zhi pursued them but was heavily encircled by the Shu forces and killed on horseback. The Shu soldiers then disguised themselves in Wei uniforms and tricked their way into opening the gates of the Wei camp. With no escape routes, the Wei army was forced onto Tiecage Mountain. Trapped on the mountain and cut off from water, countless Wei soldiers died, their bodies discarded in the Doudiyu Valley. Sima Zhao looked up to the sky and lamented, “I will die here.” Fortunately, Wang Tao devised a plan: they climbed the mountain to pray at a spring, which then began to flow, saving their lives. On Tiecage Mountain, the deep valleys where Wei soldiers fell and died after being besieged still remain. The valleys are eerie and plunging, locally referred to as the “Pit of Ten Thousand Corpses.” In a dried-up spring on the mountain, villagers discovered a square bronze seal engraved with “Military Commandant Seal,” and numerous artifacts such as halberds, dagger-axes, and bronze arrowheads have been unearthed on the mountain.