Chaoyang has a long and rich history. The discovery of the over five thousand year old Niuheliang Hongshan Cultural Ruins in the region has drawn attention to Chaoyang as one of the birthplaces of ancient Chinese culture. The area first appears in Chinese historical records as "Liucheng County" in the Early Han period of the 3rd century B.C. In 342 AD, King of the Former Yan Murong Huang made Chaoyang his capital under the name Longcheng, and the city remained the capital through the Later Yan and Northern Yan periods. Since this time, Chaoyang has functioned as a center of Buddhism in Northeast China, with the construction of Longxiang temple in 345 AD forming the beginning of Buddhist culture in the Northeast.