In the year 491 BC,

In the twenty-ninth year of King Jing’s reign in the Zhou Dynasty (491 BC), King Fuchai of Wu built the Wa Palace for Xi Shi at Lingyan Mountain. Thousands of skilled craftsmen from all over the country and local vendors gathered at the foot of Lingyan Mountain, gradually forming an ancient street market called Shantang Street. King Fuchai received tribute of divine wood from the Yue state, and he expanded the Gusu Terrace. The wood that came from upstream had blocked the river port at the foot of the mountain for three years, from which Mudu (wood-blocked port) town got its name.