Changzhou Scenery

• Composed of an inner city, a middle city, an outer city, and three moats, Yancheng Ruins stretches 850 meters east-west and 750 meters north-south, with a total area of 650,000 square meters. Its unique layout of “three cities encircled by three moats” is an evolution of moated settlements in the Jiangnan region during the Neolithic Age, distinct from the urban layouts of the Central Plains. It provides valuable materials for the study of Pre-Qin urban development in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River .

Yancheng Ruins consists of an inner city (Zicheng), a middle city (Neicheng), an outer city (Waicheng), and three moats. Stretching 850 meters east-west and 750 meters north-south, it covers a total area of 650,000 square meters. The city walls are all built of rammed earth, generally about 3 meters high with the highest point reaching 10 meters. A large number of mound tombs are distributed inside and around Yancheng, such as Tou Dui (Head Mound), Du Dui (Belly Mound), Jiao Dui (Foot Mound), Gan Family Mound, Tu Family Mound, Camel Mound, and Dragon Mound. Some of these tombs have been archaeologically excavated, yielding artifacts such as primitive celadon and impressed hard pottery. These findings confirm that the mounds date back to the mid-late Western Zhou Dynasty to the Spring and Autumn Period, concurrent with Yancheng Ruins, and are an integral part of the site.

Also known as the Royal City, the inner city (Zicheng) is located in the north-central part of Yancheng, presenting a square shape with a circumference of approximately 500 meters. Due to later damage, no large-scale architectural remains have been found within the inner city, only two ancient wells. The original river course of the inner city was buried and turned into farmland; its existence was confirmed during archaeological excavations in 1986, verifying Yancheng’s unique layout of “three cities encircled by three moats.”

The middle city (Neicheng), also called the Inner Luocheng City, is situated in the northern part of the site and is square in shape with a city wall circumference of about 1,500 meters.

The outer city (Waicheng), also known as the Outer Luocheng City, is roughly an irregular ellipse with a city wall circumference of approximately 2,500 meters. Notably, there are no land routes connecting the inner, middle, and outer cities—only waterways between the moats, with boats serving as the sole means of entry and exit.