Dongkan Mountain, also known as Donghua Mountain, was formerly known as Jinzi Mountain.
The Sichuan Gazetteer says: “The mountains are high and long, stretching across a square, like a wall. Walking on the mountains, various peaks are arranged around, just like children and grandchildren surrounding their elders.”
Behind the mountain lies Dongdong Temple, below which is Dongdong Cave. The cave is over ten feet high and about forty feet wide at its widest point. Inside stands a colossal statue of Sakyamuni, flanked by five hundred arhats, all exquisitely crafted and magnificent. The interior is vast and serene, with the six characters “Heaven Opens Cloud Cave” and “Buddhas Might” carved into the cave walls.
According to the Ba Prefecture Gazetteer, “No one knows its origin. It may have been built in the Tang Dynasty.”
Because of the inscription “pan stone and fine stream” written by Yan Wu, the Duke of Zheng in the Tang Dynasty, and the fourteen-line poem engraved on the wall stone by Yang Shie, a scholar of the Tang Dynasty and the governor of Bazhou, the “Bazhou Gazetteer” said that it was built in the Tang Dynasty. Due to its long history, it has been abandoned and lost.
The *Bazhou Zhi* records a poem by Yang Shituo about the Eastern Shrine: “Because of my fondness for the Eastern Shrine (a place, possibly a temple or scenic spot), I happily walked there on foot, passing through dense forests and deep bamboo groves, with misty clouds drifting by, leisurely and at ease. Ascending to a high point, the grandeur was overwhelming, as if it held down the three thousand worlds (a Buddhist concept referring to the vast universe), taking in all the magnificent views, making the myriad states of the world (a general term for various regions) seem small and empty. My life has been wandering, carefree and unrestrained, laughing and living without purpose, but many trivial matters have delayed my stay. Now, I only wish to face the bright moon, indulging in this fine wine (dragon liquid, referring to fine wine), lost in a dream, still unwilling to put down my cup.”
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhou Youyi built the Lingzhi Cave Stone Archway here, and the eastern cave was renamed Lingzhi Cave. The rock carvings read “The First Scenic Spot of Bazhou” and two couplets. The first one reads: “Inside the cave lies another world, where five hundred Arhats can be seen; within the stone, Buddhist teachings are heard, jointly opening the fruits of wisdom for three thousand people.” The second one reads: “Flames do not burn on the stone, yet it warms on the winter solstice; the wind often blows in the valley, but it brings cold even in summer.” At the end is inscribed: “On the seventh day after Duanwu in the Gengchen year of Chongzhen (1640), Zhou Youyi, Zhang Lianyue, Qian Xiangke, and Zhang Ruchun visited together.” None of these names can be verified, except that Zhang Lianyue was a vice magistrate of Bazhou. Later, both the stone archway and the temple were destroyed by war. Today, only the rock carvings “The First Scenic Spot of Bazhou” and the two couplets remain.