A military instructor in his hometown Lingzhou (凌州; in present-day Dezhou, Shandong) alongside Wei Dingguo, San Tinggui is a tough warrior who rides a black steed and fights with a long sabre.
In the first battle outside Lingzhou, Guan Sheng is rattled by the capture of his two lieutenants Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen by Wei Dingguo and Shan Tingguo.
Then Guan lures Shan to chase after him till they reach a remote spot where he turns and swings his big sabre to whack the latter off his horse.
Just then, Li Kui, assisted by Jiao Ting, Bao Xu, Xuan Zan and Hao Siwen, attacks a gate of Lingzhou, causing the city to fall, when Wei is still outside of it.
In the campaign against Fang La, Shan Tinggui and Wei Dingguo assist Lu Junyi in taking Xuanzhou (宣州; present-day Xuancheng, Anhui) and Huzhou.