The historical legend of "Shun Li Gengshan" first appeared in Mozi merchant Zhong Xian: "The ancients plowed the mountains smoothly, and the Taohe River was near, fishing for thunder and lightning". Later, in the works of a hundred schools of thought contend, the legend of Shungeng Lishan was reported. By the time of the Western Han Dynasty, the historical legend of "Shun Li Gengshan" was noticed by people in a wider scope through the collation and retelling of Tai Shigong's Records of the Five Emperors. After the Eastern Han Dynasty, a striking cultural phenomenon is that tracing back to the truth of "Shun Geng Li Mountain" and distinguishing the specific meaning of "Li Mountain" can be said to be endless in many ancient book annotations including Historical Records; It is also seen from time to time in various geographical works and even local chronicles, and continues to this day. Limited by space, various theories of "establishing mountains" will not be detailed one by one.
Shun was born in a poor family, engaged in all kinds of manual labor and experienced ups and downs. He cultivated and planted in Lishan (whose place name is unknown today, namely Zhongtiaoshan L in Yuanqu County and Qianfo Mountain in Jinan), fished in Leize (now Heze, Shandong Province), made pottery on the banks of the Yellow River, made utensils in Shouqiu (whose place name is unknown today), and even did small business in summer (whose place name is unknown today). In a word, he has a hard life, is displaced from place to place, and runs around to support his family.