The fortress is located 2.5 km west of Ji'an, Jilin province in Northeast China, near the North Korean border.

Goguryeo consolidated its power and began to threaten the Chinese commanderies, under the nominal control of Wei.

In 242, Dongcheon attacked a Chinese fortress near the mouth of the Amnok River leading to the Goguryeo–Wei War; in 244, Wei invaded Goguryeo and sacked Hwando.

[4] Goguryeo ended China's presence on the Korean peninsula by conquering the Lelang commandery in 313.

However, Goguryeo faced opposition by the proto-Mongol Xianbei who had conquered northern China; the Murong clan of the Xianbei attacked Goguryeo and sacked Hwando in 341, capturing thousands of prisoners to provide cheap labor.