So why is it called Zhihutao? Because of its steep mountains and overlapping peaks, it was once called Zhigutao, meaning a place as solid as a fortress. Now, please look to the right in the direction of my hand. You can see an isolated peak known as Dawangtai, with an elevation of 1,172 meters. Below it are sheer cliffs, while the summit is a flat and open primitive forest covering more than 10 mu, which is the former site of a rebel army camp. According to the Zanhuang County Annals, Zhihutao was originally named Zhigutao. Legend has it that in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, a rebel force under Li Zicheng came from Shanxi, crossed around the Taihang Mountains, and arrived at Zhangshiyan. Seeing the steep terrain and overlapping peaks, they stationed their troops on Dawangtai in Zhigutao, relying on the dangerous terrain for defense, robbing the rich to help the poor, and resisting the Qing government. In the 37th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1698), this rebel force robbed the treasury of Tangshan, now Longyao County in Xingtai, overnight. Unable to deal with them by force, the Qing government sent Yu Chenglong, Governor-General of Zhili, to Zhigutao to offer them amnesty. One month after the amnesty, Yu Chenglong issued an order for Cheng Yongjian, the magistrate of Zanhuang County, to build military camps in Wangjiaping and other places, and sent troops to guard them. Zhigutao was then renamed Zhihutao, meaning something fragile and vulnerable.
