The Imperial City Terrace Locality of the Shimao City Site in Shenmu County, Shaanxi Province

The Imperial City Terrace (Huangchengtai), a high terrace clad with stone retaining walls on all sides, was the core area of the Shimao Archaic City Site enclosed by the inner city and outer city. In 2016, the gate remains and the upper part of the northern section of the eastern retaining wall, which was the best preserved part of the retaining walls of the Imperial City Terrace, were excavated. The gate remains of the Imperial City Terrace consisted of the square, the outer barbican, the bastions, and the inner barbican. The square was in front of the gate, and the gateway was paved with stone slabs. The entire gate has more complex structure, more magnificent scale and more elaborate construction techniques than that of the eastern gate of the Outer City. This excavation sets a new starting point for the exploration of the large-scale stone city settlement pattern of the Longshan Age.