Consisting of about 250 memorial pagodas beneath or in which the ashes of the deceased were placed, the cemetery covers about 21,000 m2 (5.2 acres).

[2] These memorial "pagodas" are not real ones, which are inhabitable buildings of one or more stories with roofs bearing upturned eaves.

During their 1,200 years, the monastic facilities have undergone many changes, ending up as the complex martial arts and geotourism centers they are now.

The original monastery was founded as the first chan center specializing in Kung Foo and related martial arts.

They were torn off or broken open to give access to the chamber inside, presumably an act of robbery, since it vandalized the pagoda.

A pagoda can be dated archaeologically by size, shape, material of the bricks and the content of the cement; architecturally by the ornamental features.

There were never any permanent, fixed borders of the tract; rather, the monks simply decided to inter the master in some scenic land overlooking a stream to the west.

Official borders have been set by the Management Committee of the geopark and are published in an informational sign on-site.

For time periods it gives Tang, Wudai, Song, Jin, Yuan, Ming, Qing, and modern.

Both the Shaolin Monastery and the Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the "Historic Monuments of Dengfeng.