Site of the Shamimicheng Ancient City

　　The Site of the Shamimicheng Ancient City is situated within Nigou Town, about 15 kilometers north of Taierzhuang. It features an irregular dumbbell-shaped layout, stretching 90 meters in length and 80 meters in width, with a total area of approximately 7,200 square meters. The stratified accumulation reaches a height of about 4 to 6 meters. The elevated platform of the site stands prominently on the plains, offering an eastern view of the village of Mazhuang and the former course of the Maozi River, and a western vista of the north-south flow of the Zaotai Highway. Resembling an earthen fortress, it is particularly eye-catching.

　　In fact, the Shamimicheng site is likely the accumulated remnant of an ancient fortress over thousands of years. Since 1974, provincial and municipal cultural relics and archaeology departments have conducted multiple investigations, unearthing and collecting over 400 cultural relic samples. Among these, intact and reconstructible artifacts fall into three main categories: pottery, stone tools, and bone implements. The pottery is predominantly black pottery, adorned with decorative patterns such as bamboo-joint motifs and string patterns. The vessels are relatively large and exquisitely shaped, representing some of the finest examples of ancient ceramic ware. Stone tools mainly include production implements such as stone axes, stone hammers, and stone knives, all crafted using grinding techniques. Bone artifacts consist primarily of bone arrowheads and bone or horn handles; the arrowheads served as primitive hunting weapons, while the handles were designed for stone tools. Additionally, there are artifacts such as gray pottery jars with folded bellies from the Zhou Dynasty, intact bronze arrowheads from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Han Dynasty pottery dou vessels, petal-patterned roof tiles from the Wei and Jin periods, and flower-mouth bottles from the Song Dynasty.

　　Furthermore, examining the cross-section of the Shamimicheng site reveals distinct, well-layered ancient cultural strata. The uppermost layer, about 2 meters thick, consists of yellowish-gray soil containing pottery fragments from the Han and Zhou Dynasties, including gray pottery dan vessels, tube dan, tile pieces, pottery li tripods, and pottery jars. The second layer of the Shamimicheng site dates back to the Shang Dynasty, with artifact fragments such as gray pottery li feet, li rims, stone fragments, jar pieces, and clamshell pieces. This layer is about 2 meters thick and can be further divided into several sub-layers, each ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 meters in thickness. Some sub-layers consist of gray soil deposits, while others are made up of unburned charcoal or red burnt soil. The third layer is from the Longshan Culture period, characterized by gray soil mixed with numerous clam and river snail shells, as well as fragmented stone tools and polished black pottery pieces. Identifiable pottery fragments among them include tripod feet with ghost-face designs, tripod rims, basin rims, jar handles, and dou handles. Based on this, it is inferred that the lowest cultural stratum of the site belongs to the Chengziya type of the Longshan Culture in Shandong, containing artifacts from the early, middle, and late periods of the Longshan Culture, consistent with other similar sites in the surrounding region. Following the Longshan Culture inhabitants, the ancestors of the Shang, Zhou, and Han Dynasties all left their heavy footsteps at Shamimicheng.

　　The immense value of the Shamimicheng site stems from the great antiquity of its accumulated relics and the grandeur of its scale and structure. However, its original name remains unknown. As for its current name, “Shamimicheng” (Rice-Drying City), it is said to originate from a folk legend related to Emperor Wu of Liang.

　　Emperor Wu of Liang (464–549), whose personal name was Xiao Yan and courtesy name Shuda, was a native of Zhongdu Township, Lanling Commandery in the Southern Dynasties. He possessed remarkable political, military, and literary talents and achievements. While assisting the Southern Qi Dynasty in governing the state, he repeatedly achieved extraordinary feats, eventually founding the Liang Dynasty. During his service under Emperor Ming of Southern Qi, the Qi Dynasty faced an invasion by a 300,000-strong army of Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei. Xiao Yan was ordered to lead the charge on the Huai River front to resist the enemy and volunteered to serve as the vanguard, dispatching troops to rescue the besieged garrison at Yiyang. Leading his army through mountain paths overnight, Xiao Yan arrived at Xianshou Mountain, just a few miles away from the Northern Wei forces. He commanded his soldiers to plant flags all over the mountains and hills. At dawn, the Qi troops in Yiyang, seeing the mountain covered in fluttering banners, believed that a major reinforcement had arrived to lift the siege. Their morale soared, and they quickly assembled to attack the Northern Wei forces while setting fires downwind. Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Yan launched a pincer attack on the Northern Wei army. Personally joining the battle, he waved flags and beat drums to boost morale. The Qi troops fought bravely, and the Northern Wei army, caught in a vice between the Qi forces, was utterly defeated and forced to retreat. Ultimately, the Qi forces won the battle. It is said that during this campaign, Xiao Yan requisitioned large quantities of military provisions from his hometown, Lanling Commandery, transporting them via the Maozi River to support the front lines. Unfortunately, en route, the boats capsized and the grain was lost. Soldiers salvaged the grain sacks from the water and spread the grain out to dry on the foundations of two ancient city platforms west of the riverbank—one platform for drying wheat, the other for rice. After Xiao Yan founded the Liang Dynasty, the two platforms gained fame through oral tradition, referred to as “Liangwang’s Wheat-Drying City Platform” and “Liangwang’s Rice-Drying City Platform,” or simply “Wheat-Drying City” and “Rice-Drying City.”

　　Regarding the Site of the Shamimicheng Ancient City, the “Yi County Annals · Historical Sites Examination” contains a dedicated account: “Both the Rice-Drying City and the Wheat-Drying City are located thirty li southeast of the county. The two cities are separated by a path, as if one city had been divided by a road.” The path mentioned here between the Rice-Drying City and the Wheat-Drying City is the predecessor of today’s Zaotai Highway. From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to the present, this road has served as a vital transportation route connecting southern Taierzhuang, crossing the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and leading straight to Xuhuai. During this time, the Tai’erzhuang-Zaozhuang Railway Branch Line, built by the ZTE Corporation of Zaozhuang and crossing the canal to connect with the Longhai Railway, occupied the site of the Wheat-Drying City. Coupled with later extensive soil extraction, the Wheat-Drying City no longer exists, and the Shamimicheng site has also suffered repeated encroachments. Its current appearance is but a remnant.

　　Other sites that share similarities, proximity, or relevance with the Shamimicheng site include the nearby provincial and municipal-level protected heritage sites such as the Lanqi Ancient City Site and the Nantanzi Site, as well as sites once found near Taierzhuang, such as Leitai, Fenghuangtai, and Dentai, most of which date back to the Han Dynasty or earlier. Compared to the Shamimicheng site, these sites are considerably less significant in terms of cultural depth and archaeological value. The Shamimicheng site encapsulates 6,000 years of historical accumulation within a single platform, making its surviving ruins even more invaluable. To preserve this important remnant of human civilization, the Zaozhuang Municipal People's Government designated it as a municipal-level key cultural relics protection unit in 1980, and in 2007, it was recognized as a provincial-level key cultural relics protection unit by the Shandong Provincial People's Government.