Ancient National Heritage Site - Ximu City Stone Chamber

Ximu City Stone Chamber is located on the eastern slope of about 50 meters high in Gushoushi Village, Ximu Town, Haicheng City, Liaoning Province. Built during the Bronze Age, approximately 3000 years ago, it is one of the larger, well-constructed, and well-preserved stone chambers discovered on the Liaodong Peninsula to date. In 2001, Ximu City Stone Chamber was selected as part of the fifth batch of national key cultural relics protection units. The stone chamber is a product of early human megalithic culture, widely distributed around the world. In China, stone chamber buildings are mostly found in the northeastern and Zhejiang regions, with those in the northeast mainly concentrated in southern Liaoning, built between the late Neolithic period and the Shang and Zhou periods. There are currently three main theories regarding the nature and use of stone chambers: one suggests they were altars for religious sacrifices; another proposes they were venues for public activities; and a third posits they were tombs of ancient nobles. In recent years, the domestic archaeological community has leaned towards the 'tomb theory,' i.e., stone chamber tombs. The classification of the national protection unit list also categorizes stone chambers under ancient tombs. The Ximu City Stone Chamber is about 2.8 meters high, with a rectangular top cover that is 6 meters long, 5.1 meters wide, 0.47 meters thick, and weighs about 45 tons. The stone chamber is made of six polished granite slabs joined together with precision. The inner sides of the stone walls have neatly polished stone nests, which are unique to the Ximu Stone Chamber. Experts believe these might be a form of ancient script. It is worth mentioning that the name of Gushoushi Village is also related to the stone chamber. Originally, there were two stone chambers here, collectively known as 'Gushoushi' (Aunt and Sister-in-law Stones). The 'Sister-in-law Stone' has been destroyed, while the 'Aunt Stone' remains intact, which is the Ximu City Stone Chamber. After arriving at Gushoushi Village, you can see a screen wall with the words 'Stone Chamber' written on it (see Figure 8) after driving a little further. Following the small path, you can go up the mountain. Although the dirt road up the mountain is generally in poor condition and narrow, making it difficult for cars to pass each other, it is still recommended to drive up as walking would be a long distance. You can drive directly to the stone chamber, where there is also a large open space for parking. Currently, the second exhibition hall of the Liaoning Museum's 'Ancient China' exhibition, in the fourth unit 'Suimei Relics and Curved Blade Short Sword,' features a miniature restoration model of the Ximu City Stone Chamber in the 'Liaodong Peninsula Stone Chamber' section (see Figure 9).