The Xianglushi (Incense Burner Rock) Site was discovered in 1983. It is situated on the north bank of the Qingjiang River, 0.5 kilometres southeast of Yuxiakou Town, Changyang Tujia Autonomous County, Yichang City. It lies 97 kilometres east of the county seat, right in the middle reaches of the Qingjiang River.

Surveys show that the site stretches 300 metres from east to west and more than 100 metres from north to south, covering a total area of roughly 30,000 square metres. The core zone with dense cultural relics sits in a shaded cliff gully that is partly used for farming. The terrain slopes downward from the northeast to the southwest, facing the Qingjiang River with a vertical drop of around 30 metres down to the water surface. With this distinctive geographic setting, it represents a typical mountain fortress cultural site beside a river.

Steep rocky cliffs enclose the southeast and northwest of the core area. A nearly vertical rock formation stands on the eastern side. Resembling an incense burner in shape, it gives the site its name — Incense Burner Rock.

To support the construction of the large-scale Geheyan Hydropower Project on the Qingjiang River, the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture assembled an archaeological team by recruiting specialists from cultural and museum institutions at provincial, prefectural and county levels. Three successive excavation campaigns were carried out in the core zone in 1988, 1989 and 1995. Archaeologists uncovered an area of 467 square metres together with two cemeteries, unearthing more than 10,000 cultural artefacts of various kinds.