Xie is said to have helped Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty, to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief.

During the period of the 14 predynastic Shang rulers before Tang, the capital changed eight times.

[3] The area where early forms of Predynastic Shang culture are found include the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains in Hebei and the area around the city of Weihui in Henan, north of the Yellow River.

These sites are close to places traditionally considered Xia dynasty sites, including the area of the Erlitou culture in Yanshi, although there are differences between the two cultures.

[6] The "Six Spirits" appear frequently on Shang oracle bones, where they receive considerable numbers of sacrifices.