Standing on top of Dingshi Hill about one kilometer from the southern gate of Zhenjiang City, this pagoda is an important landmark of the city. Originally constructed during the Song Dynasty inside Wenmiao Temple on Shouqiu Hill, the pagoda was moved to its present site during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty when the temple was reconstructed. The pagoda was moved part by part, but since the original building was not properly measured and no detailed account of the design was made, it was impossible to restore the pagoda according to the original design. As a result, it was reconstructed in the popular style of the Ming Dynasty. Thus the present pagoda represents the style at the end of the Ming Dynasty.
The exterior of the pagoda is octagonal but the interior is square. The four walls of each storey, more than a metre thick, were staggered level upon level until the top, when both outside and inside were octagonal.
In 1961 a stone casket containing a miniature silver pagoda, agate, jade, coral and crystals was unearthed from the underground palace of the pagoda.
