Tangwang Cave is located on Juhua Island in Xingcheng City. The cave is more than 2,000 linear meters long, and the distance from the cave entrance to the first exit is 320 meters. The cave is about two meters high, and it gets lower as you go deeper.
The walls of the cave are built with irregular stones, but the upper cover and the lower bottom of this cave are carefully built with natural stone slabs. There are slate stones inlaid on both sides of the cave wall at intervals of three meters, arranged in a crisscross pattern, which are used to place lampstands or candles.
According to archaeological experts, objects such as stone benches and iron bowls have been found in some parts of this cave in the past. There are mainly two legends about the purpose of building this cave. Firstly, it was used by monks to store scriptures. Secondly, it was used by people to escape from wars. However, there is no detailed record in historical materials about which dynasty this cave was built in, who built it, and what its purpose was.
There are two beautiful legends about the name of this cave. Because Crown Prince Dan of Yan took refuge in this cave, it is called “King Hiding Cave”. Also, because Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, took shelter from the rain in this cave during his eastern expedition, it is also called “Tangwang Cave”.
