Shanhaiguan controls the narrow strip between the Yan mountains and the sea, the old road from the north China plain into Manchuria. The present pass was built in 1381, in the Ming dynasty, and its east gate carries the inscription 'first pass under heaven'. The fortifications include the main gate, side cities and the sea fort at Laolongtou; the pass was listed as a national key cultural relic in 1961 and entered the World Heritage list with the Great Wall in 1987.
Shanhaiguan was laid out in 1381 as a walled pass between the mountains and the Bohai. Its four gates, barbicans and corner towers were repaired repeatedly through the Ming, and the plaque over its east gate gave the pass the name it still carries.