Today, with a history of more than 600 years, known as China's most complete preservation, Ming and Qing Coastal Defense Military Castle, located in the south of the east section of Yantai's most prosperous South Street, Yantai's roots originate from here, inheriting the context and genes of Yantai's history.
According to the "History of Ming", in the thirty-first year of Ming Hongwu (1398), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the addition of the "Qishan Shouyu QianhuShou" in order to defend the coastal areas of the Wukou on the sea, which was 22 years earlier than the "Forbidden City" built in Beijing in the eighteenth year of Yongle (1420), which became the prototype of Yantai. The city built is called "Soi Chengcheng", which is a castle with military functions as the main function, and it is also an important military fortress between Dengzhouwei and Weihaiwei on the coast of northern Shandong. The city became the earliest place of residence in Yantai, initially more than a thousand defenders in the city, and later officers and soldiers continued to move in from other places, and gradually formed a settlement of residents around the city.
The city covers an area of 9.86 hectares, the city covers an area of 7.96 hectares, and the city has four gates: Baode Gate in the east, Xuanhua Gate in the west, Fulu Gate in the south, and Chaochongmen Gate in the north. The city wall is 7.33 meters high and 6.67 meters thick, and there is a circular horse road on the inner side of the city wall, and the plan of the city is symmetrical in the central axis, and there is a cross street in the city, which leads to four gates. In the third year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty (1664), the Kangxi Emperor decreed the abolition of the "Qishan Shou Yu QianhuShou", from then on the officers and soldiers were disarmed and returned to the fields to become residents, mostly engaged in fisheries, farmers, industrialists and merchants, the defensive function of the city wall disappeared and gradually deteriorated, after 1950, the city gate tower and the city wall were demolished but the remains were still there, the overall outline remained unchanged, and the streets, alleys and houses were also well preserved.
Zhang Sheng is the historical record of the city, the first hereditary official of the thousand households, under the efforts of Zhang Qianhu, vigorously built the city, Ming Yingzong invaded during the Wukou invasion, Zhang Sheng led the army to kill the enemy for the country's heroic sacrifice, since then the Zhang family has taken root and become the largest household in the city, and the descendants of Zhang and Liu in the city have built a large number of civil engineering and built residences, and the city has since evolved into a residential area. The streets and alleys in the city are basically parallel or orthogonal to the cross street, showing an irregular square shape. The building is mainly based on the northern courtyard and the courtyard, with stone as the base, green brick as the wall, and green tile as the top, and the overall shape is exquisite and simple, reflecting the local characteristics of the Jiaodong Peninsula.
Since the renovation of the buildings and courtyards in the historical and cultural blocks in the city launched in 2019, many parties have collected old materials, explored traditional crafts, and highlighted the historical value and style of cultural relics. On February 9, 2021, cross street in the city was officially opened, but the repair work continued.