The Tushan City Site is situated 15 kilometres northwest of Weishan County Town, on a large flat ground atop Mount Shulongtu west of Tuanshan Village, Dianzhong Village Committee of Dacang Town.

Backed by Dahei Mountain and facing the Yanggua River, the site is surrounded by mountains and rivers. It occupies a strategically vital position, easy to defend yet difficult to attack. Standing on the hilltop, visitors can command a full view of the entire Weishan Basin. The site covers an area of approximately 5,000 square metres.

According to official histories compiled from the Yuan Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, as well as various local chronicles of Yunnan, after Xinuluo founded the Dameng Kingdom, he built a city on Mount Shulongtu in the first year of the Yonghui reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty (650 AD) to serve as his residence. This site marks the ruins of the first capital city of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

In 1958, Yunnan Provincial Archaeological Team carried out excavations here and unearthed a large quantity of construction materials including tile fragments, stone plinths and lotus-shaped column bases. The findings further verified that this was the early capital of Nanzhao, consistent with historical records of successive dynasties.

In 1991 and 1992, the archaeological team conducted two consecutive seasons of excavation. They uncovered paved bricks and house foundations within the ancient building ruins, clearing a house base covering more than 80 square metres. Next to the building site, two terraces connected by two tiers and four tiers of stone steps were unearthed, paved with neatly laid flat bricks.

More than 180 stone statues were recovered, including heads of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Heavenly Kings, guardian warriors and Arhats. Among them were 7 fully intact pieces, 42 relatively complete heads of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and guardian deities, plus 31 fragmented body parts. Also found were inscribed tiles, square bricks and lotus-shaped stone column bases identical to those unearthed from the same city site decades earlier.

The Buddhist stone carvings include single figures as well as groups of two, three or multiple statues, both standing and seated. Craftsmen employed relief sculpture and round carving with exquisite workmanship and smooth flowing lines. The statues feature rounded, full faces and plump bodies with a strong sense of flesh texture. Most Buddha heads have spiral hair and tall topknots, with bare-shouldered kasaya robes. Bodhisattvas wear precious crowns and elaborate necklaces, with elegant flowing drapery, bearing distinct artistic characteristics of Tang Dynasty carving.

The discovery of these Nanzhao Buddhist stone statues ranks among the most important archaeological breakthroughs, following the 1958 excavation of the Tushan City Site and the large batch of Nanzhao Buddhist statues found at Qianxun Pagoda in Dali in 1978. The relics provide crucial physical evidence for the study of Nanzhao history and the connection between the kingdom and Buddhism. Owing to its great historical value, the excavation was listed as one of China’s Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries of 1992. In May 2006, the site was designated a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council.