Throughout Chinese history, mountain worship has shaped the spatial order of ancient cities as a cultural and spiritual anchor, forming a unique "city-mountain" landscape imbued with regional identity and philosophical/religious symbolism. Buddhism, as a critical cultural force, profoundly influenced this tradition. Through its integration with indigenous Chinese culture, Buddhism incorporated Confucian and Daoist ideologies, collectively enriching the cultural fabric of China. The evolution of Buddhist aesthetic concepts elevated original cultural elements of mountain worship into a higher-level aesthetic pursuit, investing natural landscapes with projections of Buddhist ideas. These transformations were a driving force of the "forest monasticism" trend (山林化), where temples increasingly “harmonized” with mountainous environments. Furthermore, the fusion of sacred mountain imagery and Buddhist paradisiacal (乐土) ideals symbolized religious transcendence, gradually permeating the cultural imagination of traditional Chinese urban planning. Buddhist architectural elements—temples, pagodas, and suburban sacred sites—gradually reshaped urban spatial structures and cultural narratives.
Southwest China exemplifies the interplay between Buddhism and "city-mountain" landscapes, serving as the gateway for Buddhism’s introduction to China. The region’s historically and culturally renowned cities, marked by dense clusters of temples, pagodas, cliff carvings, and other items of Buddhist heritage, reflect the religion’s enduring impact on urban landscape construction. This study focuses on Southwest China, employing case/field study analysis, the reconstruction of historical-geographic information, and textual research (especially local gazetteers 方志) to systematically investigate Buddhist cultural landscapes, urban monasteries, pagodas, and rock carvings—and their mechanisms in shaping historical urban forms. By analyzing these elements, the research aims to uncover the socio-cultural roots of Buddhism’s localization, deepen our understanding of the relationship between traditional Chinese religions and urban development, and enhance interpretative frameworks for religious-cultural landscapes. The findings hold significance for guiding the preservation of relevant historical heritage sites and advancing interdisciplinary discourse on religious geography and urban history.