The ruins of Chengziya are located on the banks of the Wuyuan River in Longshan Subdistrict, Zhangqiu District. Discovered by Wu Jinding in 1928, with a total area of 220,000 square meters, it is the first ancient city site in China to be discovered, excavated and published by Chinese archaeologists. The Chengziya site is rich in connotation and lasts for a long time, and the accumulation layer is divided into three layers, the upper layer is the Zhou Dynasty cultural layer, the middle layer is the Yueshi cultural layer, and the lower layer is the Longshan cultural layer, and a large number of cultural relics of various eras have been excavated. The lower longshan city site is about 530 meters longest from north to south, about 430 meters wide from east to west, and covers an area of about 200,000 square meters. The cultural layers in the city site are abundant, including house foundations, wells, kilns and other ruins. Pottery is mainly black pottery and gray black pottery. Stone tools are mostly ground. There are also bone organs. Two excavations were conducted in 1928 and 1930, revealing for the first time the Yongsan culture, characterized by exquisite polished black pottery. The site of Yueshi Culture is directly superimposed on the site of Longshan Cultural City, with an area of 170,000 square meters. The rammed walls are well-laid and the rammed earth is solid.
In 1990, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted exploration and excavation of the Chengziya site, and found that the Chengziya site was composed of the overlapping sites of Longshan Cultural City, Yueshi Cultural City and Zhou Dynasty City, clarifying the 60 years of controversy about the era of Chengziya sites. Among them, the site of Longshan Cultural City covers an area of more than 200,000 square meters, which is the largest of the ancient city sites in this period; The site of Yueshi Culture City is the only Xia Dynasty city site found so far. This discovery is of great significance for the study of ancient Chinese urban development and the origin of Chinese civilization, and the Longshan culture revealed from this has played a huge role in promoting the understanding and study of China's Neolithic culture. The excavation of the Chengziya site has provided important information for the study of prehistoric city sites and the origin of civilization in China. Chengziya and its surrounding ancient ruins formed a basically complete ancient cultural area from the Neolithic era to the Two Han Dynasties. The site of Chengziya Longshan Cultural City has the prototype of an early city, indicating that it has become a power center, an economic center, and a cultural center at that time. The discovery of the site of Chengziya Yueshi Culture City has filled the gap in the archaeology of mainland cities. Prior to this, no Xia Dynasty Cultural City site had been found between the Longshan Cultural City site and the Shang Dynasty Cultural City site. The discovery of the site of Chengziya Yueshi Culture City provides important information for the study of the origin of Chinese civilization, the history of Chinese urban development and the relationship between Yixia and Yixia.
"On the Earliest City Site in China"
Liu Shijin--Journal of Hebei University, No. 1, 1984, pp. 148-152
This article introduces the remains of the Dengfeng Wangchenggang Castle in Henan, the Longshan Cultural Ancient City in Pingliangtai in Huaiyang, and the architectural remains of Dongxiafeng in Xia County, Shanxi, and summarizes the following problems: First, whether it is a city wall, a high wall, or a trench, it is a defensive facility; The shape is made of mouth shape, most of which has a gap or a city (palace) gate in the south, which coincides with the glyphs and meanings of "wai", "guo", "que" and so on. Second, the ramming technology is generally used in the construction of the city, and from the perspective of the structure of the city wall and the ramming technology, the Wangchenggang and Pingliangtai Castles show a certain primitiveness. Third, rammed earth remains have been found more or less in the city, which may be the foundations of the more advanced buildings at that time, indicating that the ancient city site is inhabited by the upper echelons of the ruling class, which can be called miyagi and castle, and cannot yet be called a city. Fourth, a number of circular sub-fortresses were found in the ancient castle of Wangchenggang, and there were also Traces of Er Y Xu in the Early Root Hundred White Piers. Fifth, Wangchenggang, Pingliangtai and Coal Mountain and other places in Longshan Qihua Zhuo District. The moonrise afterburner Zhi Tong cried twenty pots, etc., indicating that the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River had begun to smelt and cast bronzes at least in the late Longshan culture.
The author finally points out that the construction of ancient castles, the smelting and casting of bronzes, the laying of foundations and sacrifices, and other phenomena related to class antagonism are the three characteristics of the initial stage of slave society, which arose at the same time as slave society. Archaeological data prove that the dating of the three castles of Wangchenggang, Pingliangtai and Dongxiafeng has entered the early stage of the xia chronology, all in the middle and late stages of the Longshan culture, which marks the arrival of class society and the birth of a slave state.
"Dengfeng Wangchenggang and "Yudu Yangcheng""
Yang Baocheng, Cultural Relics, No. 2, 1984, pp. 63-66
Excavators of Dengfeng Wangchenggang, a type site in the Longshan culture of Henan Province, believe that the castle found may be an important site in the "early Xia Dynasty", "Yudu Yangcheng", and list five bases. This article presents different views on each of these five bases. The article believes that: First, the ruins of Wangchenggang Castle itself cannot be used as an "important symbol of entering the civilized society", and from its scale and nature, the site is only a general settlement site with defensive facilities. To say that it was the political, economic, and cultural center of the Xia Dynasty is unconvincing. Second, we cannot mechanically equate the development of the productive forces (including the innovation of the means of production) with the changes in the relations of production and even the social system, and the bronzes unearthed at the site are not "an important symbol of the development from primitive society to slave society." Third, the human and animals buried in the sacrificial pits at the Wangchenggang site should be prisoners of war, not slaves, and of course, it is not "a reflection of the class oppression relationship of slave society." Fourth, there is an error in the dating of the site excavators using carbon fourteen, and after correcting by the tree wheel, it has been found that it has far exceeded the scope of the Xia Dynasty. Fifth, the geographical problem of "Yudu Yangcheng" in ancient literature records is all made by later generations according to legends, and it is difficult to use it as a basis for arguments.
The author also points out that the Culture of the Xia Dynasty is still in the exploratory stage, and as an important symbol of the Xia Dynasty, palaces, temples and royal tombs have not yet been found. Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the field archaeology work.