An ancient stone quarry located near the city of Nanjing, China. Used for centuries as a source of stone for buildings and monuments in Nanjing. Currently it is a historical monument. The quarry became famous for the presence of a giant unfinished stele, the cutting of which was stopped during the reign of Emperor Yongle in the early 15th century. Compared to other construction projects in Yongle, such as Zheng He's Fleet and the Forbidden City, the stele was one of the most ambitious and exciting projects.
The Yanshan quarry was developed during the 6th dynasty. Limestone was mined there, which was used to construct buildings, walls and statues in and around Nanjing. After Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Hongwu) founded the Ming Dynasty in 1368, Nanjing became the capital of his empire. The Yanshan Quarry has become the main source of stone for major construction projects that have changed the face of Nanjing. In 1405, the son of Hongwu, Emperor Yongle, ordered a giant stele to be cut down in the quarry in order to put it at the Xiaolin Mausoleum for his deceased father.
According to the established canons for the construction of Chinese memorial steles, three separate parts were prepared: a rectangular base (pedestal), the body of the stele, and the head of the stele (a crown decorated with dragons). According to the version of archaeologists, after most of the work was done, the architects suddenly realized that they could not simply move the giant blocks from Yanshan to the Xiaolin Mausoleum, let alone install them properly.
As a result, the project was abandoned. In place of the stele, a small plaque (still the largest in the Nanjing District) was erected known as Shenggon Shend (Divine Merit and Pious Virtue). The stele was erected in 1413 in the "Square Pavilion" of the Xiaolin Mausoleum. Three incomplete parts of the stele are still in the Yanshan quarry.