The city itself used to be named Dayong, and has a recorded history dating back to 221 BC. Human beings lived here along both banks of the Lishui river (the mother river in zhangjiajie), now within the boundaries of Zhanagjiajie City, very early during the Stone Age. The history of civilization in this region dates back to 100,000 years ago, rivaling such famous sites as Xi'an, Beijing and others. In 1986, the Academy of Chinese Social Science discovered relics of the Old Stone Age in Cili County, unearthing 108 articles of stoneware; these mainly included: tapered-form, hacked-tamped and plate-shaped wares.