Iron Mountain and Gang Mountain Cliff Inscriptions

　　This area features a dense concentration of cliff inscriptions from the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Despite over 1,400 years of weathering, the inscriptions remain clear and well-preserved to this day.

　　The Iron Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are carved on a massive, gently sloping (at a 45-degree angle) granite stone slab on the sunny side of Iron Mountain. The engraved area measures 66.2 meters in length from north to south and 16.2 meters in width from east to west, covering a total area of 1,085 square meters. Based on content, the inscriptions can be divided into four parts: the sutra text, the “Stone Hymn,” the hymn inscription, and the inscription of names. The sutra text forms the main part of the cliff engraving. It spans 17 lines with nearly 800 identifiable characters. The characters are neatly arranged, with even line spacing and clear grid lines. The content is from the “Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra · Chapter on Piercing the Bodhi” of Buddhist scripture. The script is primarily clerical style with strong elements of seal and regular scripts, interspersed with running-cursive styles. The “Stone Hymn” is located to the west at the top of the sutra text. It features the two characters “Stone Hymn” written in seal script, with a diameter of 90 cm, serving as the title for the hymn inscription. The hymn inscription is carved to the right of the sutra text, spanning 12 lines with characters about 22 cm in size, primarily in clerical script. The hymn describes the location and surrounding environment of the engraved sutra, the background of the sponsor, the year of engraving, and especially praises the exquisite calligraphy artistry of the sutra. The year of engraving recorded in the hymn is: “The seventeenth day of the eighth month (Gengshen) in the first year of the Dàxiàng era of the Imperial Zhou,” which corresponds to 579 AD. The inscription of names is located at the bottom of the sutra text, listing the names of the sponsor Sun Zhi, who was the Commandant and Governor of Rencheng Commandery, among others, as well as the calligrapher An Daoyi who inscribed the cliff text.

　　The Gang Mountain Cliff Inscriptions are located to the north of Iron Mountain. The sutras are engraved along both sides of the valley, centered around a rock commonly known as “Chicken Beak Rock” in the middle, and are scattered across cliff faces and rocks. Based on content, they can be divided into four parts: the inscription of names, the “Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra” (Sutra of Visualizing the Buddha of Infinite Life), the “Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra,” and scattered inscriptions of the “Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.” The inscription of names is on the northern side of Chicken Beak Rock, consisting of 8 lines totaling 49 characters. On the eastern side is a small stone Buddha statue seated inside a semicircular niche, with the characters “Stone Sutra” carved to the right of the statue, and “Śākyamuni Buddha,” “Maitreya Buddha,” and “Amitābha Buddha” carved below, along with the year of engraving “the third day of the seventh month in the second year of Dàxiàng” (579 AD). The “Amitāyurdhyāna Sūtra” is engraved on the eastern and southern sides of Chicken Beak Rock. The eastern side has 10 lines totaling 145 characters. The characters are neatly arranged. The southern side continues the sutra text directly from the eastern side, with 5 lines totaling 32 characters, all well-preserved. The “Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra” is located on the cliff face approximately 40 meters south of Chicken Beak Rock, facing north. It is divided into front and back sections, with a total of 108 characters. The scattered inscriptions of the “Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra” are distributed across multiple cliff faces. The number of characters ranges from as many as 32 to as few as 1. The characters on the cliff are neatly arranged with clear grid lines, typically about 40 cm in size, depicting an overview of the Pure Land of the Buddha. In January 1988, the Iron Mountain and Gang Mountain Cliff Inscriptions were designated as Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level by the State Council.

　　The Geshan Cliff Inscriptions are located on a granite stone slab at the western foot of Beige Mountain, approximately 15 kilometers northeast of the city. The engraved surface measures 20.6 meters in length from east to west and 8.4 meters in width from north to south, covering a total area of 173 square meters. The content is the “Vimalakīrti Sūtra.” It spans 10 lines with 42 characters per line, totaling 420 characters, though only slightly over 200 characters are currently identifiable. The inscription dates to the second year of the Dàxiàng era of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (580 AD). The inscription of names is located in the lower right portion of the sutra text. Due to heavy weathering, the characters have become largely illegible. The engraved sutra characters combine clerical and regular script styles, with bold composition and artistic charm, sharing stylistic similarities with the Iron Mountain inscriptions. The time of engraving is the same as that of the Gang Mountain inscriptions.