The state used Dongdan as its Chinese name, meaning the Eastern Dan Gur (Bohai), in respect to the Liao dynasty in the west.

Yelü Bei obeyed the imperial order but soon fled to North China to avoid possible assassination in 930.

Yelü Bei's son was elevated to the new king of Dongdan, but the kingdom was annexed by the Liao dynasty in 936.

On the other hand some believe that Dongdan was never a "independent kingdom", but the former area of Balhae was instantly annexed in 926 by the Liao dynasty.

But the Japanese court in Kyoto rejected the mission from Dongdan, due to loyalty for the old Balhae regime.