Black Stone Mountain

Black Stone Mountain is situated in Hengshan Town, 25 kilometers north of the county seat. Standing at an altitude of 439 meters, it belongs to the Qianligang Mountain Range and serves as the northern natural barrier of the county border, adjoining Meiling Pass in Jiande County.

A temple nestles on its southern slope. Visitors climb a stone path winding alongside a mountain brook with over 700 stone steps leading up from the foot of the hill. Halfway along the trail, the mountain rises abruptly into a steep stretch known as the Hundred-Step Ridge. At the top of this ridge lies a flat clearing densely covered with bamboo and trees, where Black Stone Temple stands backed by green mountains.

Erected in the 1st year of the Taihe reign of the Tang Dynasty (827 AD), the temple is also called Zhaoqing Temple, covering a land area of 5,000 square meters. Lined up from south to north are the Mountain Gate, Mahavira Hall and Guanyin Pavilion, with numerous auxiliary buildings flanking the east and west sides. It is an ancient temple boasting a long history and considerable scale, a favored destination for sightseeing, leisure and Buddhist worship for thousands of years.

Black Stone Mountain boasts uniquely striking scenery. The exposed rock faces of its main peak are smooth and glossy as if cast from steel or iron. Years of exposure to sun, wind and rain have dyed the stones jet-black, hence the mountain’s name Black Stone Mountain. A stone cave named Secluded Rock sits amid the cliffs. As recorded in the Republican-era County Annals: “The cave reaches three zhang deep, twice as wide. A spring seeps through the rock, flowing nonstop all year round. A split cleft cuts the black stone at the cave’s rear, dividing the cliff into two towering sections left and right, with a hollow dozens of zhang deep between them.”

After the Southern Song Dynasty established Lin’an as its capital, Meiling became a vital thoroughfare west of the Yangtze River. An official highway once ran beneath Black Stone Mountain, stretching east to Lin’an and west to Hunan and Jiangxi. The road was paved with herringbone blue bricks. Legend says brick kilns were built every five li to fire paving bricks on-site. Multiple kiln ruins and brick road foundations have been unearthed during land reclamation and road construction works.

Many renowned historical figures once stayed at Black Stone Temple. According to ancient local records, in the 3rd year of the Shaoxing reign of the Southern Song Dynasty (1133), Yue Fei lodged overnight here and inscribed a message on a wooden table: “By imperial edict, I Yue Fei journey to the capital and then return to the west of the Yangtze, taking temporary lodging at Secluded Rock. I climbed to the upper precinct to admire the magnificent mountains and rivers. My aspiration lies with the nation: I yearn to swiftly vanquish the barbarian invaders, recover our lost territory, welcome back the two emperors exiled in the northern wastelands, and sustain endless peace under our sovereign. I pen this while forming karmic ties with Buddhism. Written on the third day of the tenth lunar month, the 3rd year of Shaoxing reign of the Song Dynasty.”

Yue Fei also composed the enduring poem Farewell to Zhang Ziyan on His Northern Campaign at Zhaoqing Temple. Generals including Zhang Jun (courtesy name Ziyan) and Liu Guangsi left wall inscriptions here, while literati such as Zhou Bida and Jiang Man handed down poems and essays written at the temple.