Yongkang Shichengkeng Scenic Area

　　Shichengkeng is situated in Zhulingjiao Village, Yongxiang Township. As you enter the valley and look around, you'll see mountains encircling the area like a wall, with verdant woods and lofty boulders standing in majestic rows along the slopes — resembling a sturdy stone fortress. Amid the rising clouds and rosy hues, the scenery is both grand and spectacular. Along the base of the rocky walls, there's a winding mountain path over a hundred meters long, allowing visitors to climb step by step. On one side are sheer cliffs hundreds of meters high, and on the other, dense groves of trees and bamboo. Wandering here offers a cool, serene, and deeply engaging experience. Beneath the cliffs lies a cave known by villagers as the “General’s Cave.” Legend has it that when the Yellow Emperor visited this area, his guards stayed here. Next to the cave is a rock crevice dozens of meters high, resembling a “skyline crack,” which leads straight up to a flat rock platform at the top. It’s said that the Yellow Emperor’s guards stood watch here, and if they spotted any trouble, they would drop small stones down the crevice, which would produce a sharp, alarm-like sound — hence the local name “Rock Sentinel.”

　　Shichengkeng is dotted with caves, large and small, numbering more than ten in total. The most magical of these is a large cave halfway up the mountain. It spans over a hundred square meters and is divided into upper, middle, and lower levels, all interconnected. The space is open on all sides, spacious and comfortable. In front of the cave are facing stone gates, inside flows a clear spring, and nearby a waterfall cascades down. According to local legend, when Huangdi’s martial sister, the Goddess Jiutian Xuannü, visited Shicheng Mountain from Jinhua Mountain, Huangdi welcomed her here — thus, the villagers call it the “Yellow Emperor’s Cave.” Recently, during a cleanup of the cave’s silt, fragments of pottery bowls were unearthed. After examination by the city’s cultural relics department, they were identified as artifacts from the Tang and Song dynasties. From the back of the cave, you can climb up to the top of the cave and discover that it is actually covered by a huge boulder that fell from above. The cave’s ceiling is flat and expansive, like a massive roof, and on the boulder lies a large footprint. Villagers say it is believed to be left behind by Jiutian Xuannü when she ascended to immortality after leaving Shicheng Mountain.

　　Legend has it that Hu Benkong was a monk from the Chengzhen Temple at the foot of the mountain. He often hiked into the hills to gather herbs and provide medical care to help people. One day, while climbing to the top of the cave to collect herbs, he accidentally fell from a cliff several zhang high. Expecting the worst, he survived unscathed — truly a blessing from heaven and earth. So, he set up a ladder on the cliff face and inscribed a record of the event himself. Surprisingly, the ink marks from that time have endured for nearly 500 years.