Why did Đinh Bộ Lĩnh make Hoa Lư the capital in 968, and what can the mountains and rivers there still tell us today?

Why did Đinh Bộ Lĩnh choose Hoa Lư in 968 instead of a wide plain?

In 968, after defeating the Twelve Warlords and unifying the country, Đinh Bộ Lĩnh ascended the throne as Đinh Tiên Hoàng, named the country Đại Cồ Việt and chose Hoa Lư as the capital. The Đại Việt sử lược records the event: in the first year of the Khai Bảo era (968), the king proclaimed himself emperor at Hoa Lư cave, then built palaces, established court ceremonies, arranged the hundred officials, set up the altars of state, and took the title Đại Thắng Minh Hoàng đế.

The reason for choosing Hoa Lư lay not in the wealth of a plain but in the lay of the land. This was a rugged mountainous area, described as a stone capital, where the king built palaces, set court ceremonies, raised walls, dug moats, and used the mountains to create a solid defensive work, isolated from the outside. For a state just born after years of internal strife, a base that was both easy to defend and close to the ruler's homeland and original forces was a more sensible choice than an open plain town.

Timeline of the Hoa Lư capital

In total, the Hoa Lư capital existed for 42 years (968-1010), linked to three dynasties: Đinh, Early Lê and the early Lý. Throughout that time it was mainly the headquarters of two kings who were also commanders-in-chief, Đinh Tiên Hoàng and Lê Đại Hành.

How did the surrounding limestone mountains form a natural ring wall?

The Hoa Lư capital lay in a relatively flat valley among small but steep limestone ranges, creating a barrier almost impossible for foot travellers to cross. Even today, many peaks in the area can only be climbed by mountain goats. The tenth-century kings made full use of this terrain to design extremely hard-to-break ring walls.

To close the gaps between the ranges, they had earthen walls built, reinforced and anchored into the soft ground with wooden stakes. In total the capital was protected by ten wall sections, the longest 500m, the shortest 65m, about 10m high and about 15m thick. Many sections still survive and have been excavated by archaeologists. According to domestic sources, the gaps between mountain slopes were filled with earth packed with bricks, the wall base bound with bricks, raised 8 to 10m high, and traces of many wall sections remain today. This approach saved maximum labour and resources, because nature had done most of the defensive work.

Terrain features and practical meaning

What role did the Hoàng Long River and its branches play?

The north side of the citadel lay by the Hoàng Long River, so water transport was very convenient. This river flows to the northwest of the capital and through a river system connects Hoa Lư to the sea. In the tenth century, commoners' houses, markets and warehouses linked to river trade all clustered near the river.

This was the important balance of Hoa Lư: with only mountains the capital would be isolated, but with a large river and branches it kept its defensive position while maintaining contact, supply and trade. To the northeast of the citadel is Cột Cờ mountain, formerly where King Đinh planted the national flag, and nearby is where the king stood to review the navy on the Sào Khê River. In other words, the river system was not only a road but part of the military layout.

Why did Hoa Lư's cramped space later become a reason to move the capital?

Hoa Lư was designed as a military citadel rather than a large city. The capital lay among enclosing mountains, heavily military in character, a discreet position good for defence and attack, and far from the border so northern armies found it hard to scout and launch lightning raids. But precisely for that reason the space for development was limited: the valley among the mountains was not wide enough for a growing capital, and palaces and markets were crowded into a narrow area.

In 1010 Lý Công Uẩn moved the capital to Đại La (Thăng Long). Hoa Lư then became an ancient capital. Under the Lý and Trần dynasties this land still held an important role and was called Trường Yên phủ. The move did not deny Hoa Lư's value; it reflected the new needs of a stabilised state, which required a larger plains centre for population, trade and administration.

How is Hoa Lư read through loan đầu feng shui, and whose interpretation is it?

In loan đầu feng shui reading, the ideal site is often described as mountains behind, water embracing in front, with thanh long and bạch hổ flanking. The area of the Đinh Tiên Hoàng temple is recorded as sitting in a tiền thủy hậu sơn position, meaning water in front and mountains behind, and laid out in the nội công ngoại quốc style.

It should be said clearly: this is a later interpretation looking back at the terrain, not a record of Đinh Bộ Lĩnh's decision in 968. Historical sources emphasise military and practical reasons: mountains as walls, rivers as moats, rugged terrain, and proximity to the king's homeland and base. The feng shui element, if present, acts as a cultural layer added later, harmonising with the defensive reason rather than replacing it. It should also be noted that different feng shui schools may read the same terrain differently, so this should not be asserted as the only or absolutely correct reading.

What traces can still be read today?

The ancient citadel is no longer intact; only some sections of wall built of earth, stone and brick remain, excavated by archaeologists. In 2021, an excavation in the Nội field south of the Đinh King temple in the Hoa Lư Ancient Capital historical and cultural relic site revealed part of an architectural foundation of earlier people, including three large clusters of stakes driven 1.8m to 2.5m deep with reinforcing stakes. This is an architectural style of the Đại La period, later reused by the Đinh dynasty in the early state-building phase. Finds included many kinds of bricks, tiles, ceramics and earthenware dating from before the Common Era to the Đinh and Early Lê period; bricks and tiles from the 7th to 9th centuries were the most numerous.

Preliminary archaeological results suggest the Hoa Lư capital had two main areas: the Inner Citadel and the Outer Citadel. The Outer Citadel, now in Yên Thượng and Yên Thành hamlets, Trường Yên commune, was the main palace, where King Đinh planted the national flag, now the temple of King Đinh and King Lê. The Inner Citadel was larger, connected to the Outer Citadel by a mountain pass called Quèn Vòng, with the stone Đông and Rền bridges, used as a place to raise children and as storehouses.

In front of the palace is Mã Yên mountain, said to have been used by King Đinh Tiên Hoàng as a screen. In front of the Đinh temple, on the top of Mã Yên Sơn with 265 steps, is the tomb of King Đinh. In Yên Thành hamlet many temples and pagodas remain as part of the main palace architecture, such as Nhất Trụ pagoda built under King Lê Đại Hành, with a 4.16m octagonal stone sutra pillar carved with the Lăng Nghiêm sutra in front. Next is Phất Kim temple, worshipping the third daughter of King Đinh Tiên Hoàng. In the former Outer Citadel there were many other ancient pagodas built in the Đinh dynasty, such as Đìa pagoda, Tháp pagoda and Bà Ngô pagoda.

The temple of Lê Đại Hành lies 300m north of the Đinh Tiên Hoàng temple, with Đền mountain as its backdrop. The Đinh Tiên Hoàng temple was built on the foundation of the main palace of the ancient capital. Both temples keep many national treasures linked to the traditional Hoa Lư festival, held in the third lunar month each year.

Where does Hoa Lư sit within the Tràng An Landscape Complex?

The Hoa Lư Ancient Capital historical and cultural relic was ranked a Special National Relic by the Prime Minister. In 2014, at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, the Tràng An Landscape Complex was inscribed as a World Heritage site, under cultural and natural criteria. This is a mixed heritage, and the Hoa Lư Ancient Capital relic is one of its component areas.

The Tràng An Complex includes Hoa Lư, Tam Cốc - Bích Động and the Tràng An eco-tourism area, linked by the Hoa Lư special-use forest on limestone ranges together with rivers, lakes and swamps. The Tràng An - Tam Cốc area covers more than 6,172ha, a special protection zone of the landscape, within the Hoa Lư special-use forest and part of the Tràng An world heritage plan with an area of 12,252ha. Administratively, from 1 January 2025, Hoa Lư city was established by merging the entire area and population of Hoa Lư district and Ninh Bình city, with a natural area of 150.24km2 and a population of 238,209.

The Ninh Bình region in general and Hoa Lư in particular also show traces of ancient Vietnamese habitation from tens of thousands of years ago, with Hòa Bình and Bắc Sơn cultural sites found in Đắng cave, Bái Sơn, Kênh Gà, Đồi Thúy, and especially Người Xưa (Tam Điệp). Archaeological work at Hoa Lư therefore not only clarifies the tenth-century capital but also connects to a much longer line of habitation.