Battlefield at Fishing Castle
Fishing castle is built on Fishing Mountain with height of 400 meters. It is five kilometers away from Hechuan City, covering any area of 2.5 square kilometers. Four seasons in scenic are of distinctive features. There is a smooth huge stone on the mountain. As the legend has it, a giant god usually sits here fishing in Jialing River in order to provide the fish to starving people in the city, after which the city is named. Surrounded by three rivers (Jialing River, Fujiang River and Qujiang River), the castle is strategically situated and difficult to access. With sheer cliffs rising abruptly on all sides, the city gate and wall were built magnificently and firmly. There are six city gates extant and a 6.5-kilometer-long city wall from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Early in Tang Dynasty, Shitou (Stone),a known monk in Hechuan, established Huguo Temple in the mountain. Suspending reclining Buddha and thousand-Buddha grottoes were carved along the cliff, which attracted monks and travelers to worship and visit. In 1171(Southern Song Dynasty),Feixi Tower was built .At the moment, no refined scholar will miss this place when passing by Hechuan .A great number of poems and passages are written to express their emotions and ambitions after having a magnificent view from the tower.
In late Southern Song Dynasty, war broke out between Song and Yuan Dynasty. In order to defend against Mongolian army, the government decided to build a castle around Fishing Mountain in 1243.
From then on, Hechuan government and people have made full use of strategic location of the castle to resist numerous attacks from Mongolian Army. The two parties fight dauntlessly and underwent more than 200 battles. In 1279, the Emperor committed suicide by jumping into the sea . No long after, generals in Hechuan surrendered to Mongolian Army. The war which lasted 36 years finally came to an end. The long-lasting battle prevents Mongolian expansion to Africa and alleviates the damage to Eurasian War. It is one of typical case in which the weak overcome the strong in Chinese history. At that time, fishing castle got the nickname of Eastern Mecca and the Place Where "the Whip of God Broke.
Battle field of Fishing Castle has been well-preserved. The major historic sites include castle gate, wall, royal palace, government office and navy dock; the major scenic spots include fishing terrace, Huguo Temple, suspending reclining Buddha, thousand- Buddha grottoes, royal cave, heaven spring cave etc. What's more, there are a large quantity of poets, essays, sculptures and inscriptions with regard to Fishing Castle and this significant battle.
In 1982, fishing castle is listed as national scenic spot in China.
