Tongren Ancient City faces water on three sides in the east, south and west, and only faces mountains on the north. The terrain is dangerous, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack. As early as the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1553), because "Tongren Border Enclosure effectively controlled the entrance and exit of the barbarians, and was the gateway to Si, Shi, Chen, Yuanfu, and Wei's key passes", the Ming court would guard Guizhou and Admirals Ping (Yue), Qing (Lang) and other local military officers were moved to Tongren, and the titles of admiral Mayang and other departments were added to control the generals. After putting down the rebellion of Yang Yinglong, the chieftain of Bozhou, the general army was stationed in the provincial capital in spring and summer, and in Tongren in winter and autumn. It was not until the second year of Ming Dynasty (1662), after An Bangyan, the chieftain of Shuixi, rebelled against the Ming Dynasty, that the general military officer was permanently stationed in the provincial capital and the staff general was appointed to guard Tongren. Tongren's military status can be seen from this.
In February of the eleventh year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1413), the Ming Dynasty pioneered the "reform of land and return to local rule" in China. It abolished the two Xuanwei departments of Sizhou and Sinan, and set up eight prefectures including Tongren in their respective places. , and established the Guizhou Chief Envoy Department, making Guizhou a provincial-level administrative unit. When Tongren first established its government, no city walls were built, only tree fences were used for defense. In the 14th year of the Zhengtong reign of the Ming Dynasty (1449), the Miao people in Hongjiang rebelled, and both the fence and the prefect's office were burned to the ground. In the second year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty (1451), Zhu Jian, the prefect, began to build an earthen city with a circumference of 758 feet and about three miles. There are four gates in the east (Jianming Gate), south (Anfu Gate), west (Fuyuan Gate) and north (Changning Gate), with towers built on each gate. In the 18th year of Hongzhi in the Ming Dynasty (1505), the prefect Liu Yu repaired the old city that had collapsed over time and added 135 feet of the north gate wall. In the seventh year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty (1512), the prefect Zhou Ruduan built an additional Tucheng near the river in the west area of ??Jingxi. In the thirteenth year of Jiajing's reign in the Ming Dynasty (1534), the prefect Ao Wenzhen built an additional northeastern city. After that, it went through several constructions before it could be called perfect. , the prefect Ao Wenzhen added additional buildings to the Northeast Prefectural City. In the 19th year (1540), the Miao people in the three provinces of Chu, Guizhou and Shu revolted. Because the old city was low and narrow, it was difficult to defend, so the prefect Li Zikun abandoned the old city and added a new one in the 22nd year (1543). An additional 358 feet was built to the west, and the city wall was made of bricks and stones, one foot and six feet high, and a deeper moat (without water) was dug. Later, it was built by Li Yunjian, the prefect of Sizhou, and Zhang Daru, the garrison of Tongren. It was built several times by Liu Zhongfang and others before it was completed. The city wall measures 936 feet, with 868 battlements, 7 towers, 3 turrets, and 803 towers. Seven city gates were opened: Zhengnan (Qingliu, also known as Jiangzong) Gate, Zhongnan (Wenchang) Gate, Xianan (Yingxun) Gate, East (Jinghe) Gate, and North (Gongchen) Gate. , West (Fucheng) Gate, Bianshui (Binyang) Gate. The east, south and west sides of the city are bordered by two rivers, about 4 miles apart. From the north gate to the east there is a moat, about 300 paces (about 480 meters) long, one foot deep and one foot wide. In the 30th year of Wanli (1602), the city wall was washed away by floods. Governor Guo Zizhang issued more than 590 taels of official silver and ordered Lu Yunlong, the deputy patrol envoy of the soldiers stationed in Tongren, the prefect He Dajin, and the county magistrate He Sanrang to build the city and increase the number of officials. Tongren County Tucheng was built in the north of Fucheng. In the thirty-fifth year (1607), the city wall was destroyed by floods again. Governor Feng Yiyuan also issued more than 900 taels of official silver, plus donations from local military and political officials, which were used to build buildings and rebuild the city wall. On the basis of the old wall, the height was increased by three-tenths and the thickness by two-tenths. 3,264 battlements were built, 7 gatehouses (later two water gates, the New East Gate and the Back Water Gate, were added to facilitate the people's access to water), and 4 turrets. The city wall totals 1,088 feet, and the county seat is expanded by 1,100 feet. "The construction is solid, the battlements are rugged, and it is the best in central Guizhou." The Jiangzong Tower built on the main south gate was praised by predecessors as "majestic and majestic. It faces the Three Rivers (referring to the large and small rivers of Tongren and the Tongjiang River after the big and small rivers merge here). It has hundreds of pheasants on its toes and thousands of green mountains. , All the water drags the blue, which is a wonderful victory for the county." On the Dragon Boat Festival in the 38th year of Wanli (June 25, 1610), Deng Zhong, the general of the Guizhou Army stationed in Tongren, and Liu Guanguang, the deputy patrol officer of the Sishi Road stationed in Tongren, met each other on the tower. Sing the poem "Five Days at the Jiangzong Tower to Watch the Ferrying in the Cold": "Thousands of gates hang with moxa and orchids, and the flutes and drums flow with laughter and joy. The colorful flying boats pass from the dragon room, and the people in the feast point to the mirage. The smoke is horizontal. Crossing the two rivers in ancient times is noisy, and the waves shake the cliffs in the cold month. I wander towards Xiaoxiang to pursue the past, and I still remember the altar of the Han Dynasty. "Jiang Pavilion invites guests to smile and lean on the railings. Thousands of people watch them. Whoever rides the wind and waves wins first." The flow of life has not ended yet. The fate of life continues in the long road. You only need to eat with corn millet in southern Guizhou.
"From this, it is not difficult for us to imagine the lively scene on the city tower at that time.
In the fifteenth year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1658), Liang Maochen, the prefect, rebuilt the gates and towers of the upper south gate, middle south gate, and lower south gate. After that, The city wall was repaired in the ninth year of Kangxi (1670), the thirty-seventh year of Qianlong (1772), the third year of Daoguang (1823), and the twelfth year of Guangchunli (1886). In the fifth year of Tongzhi (1866), the prefect Chen Mei returned. Two provincial forts and 28 small forts were built in the Northeast, and one shed was built for every ten battlements. During the Republic of China, 173 gatehouses were built at the Zhongnan Gate and the New East Gate. .
After liberation, most of the city walls of Tongren were well preserved. Later, with the development of the city, the city walls were gradually demolished. Now only the wall from Jiangzongmen to Zhongnanmen still exists (no battlements, but similar ones are now built). In 1980, Tongren Ancient City Wall (part of it) was listed as a county-level cultural relic protection unit.