[3] The mountain is named after the early Ming dynasty farmer Xiang Dakun of the Tujia ethnic group, who led a successful local farmers' revolt and called himself "Xiang Wang Tianzi", meaning son of Heaven and which is the traditional epithet of the Chinese emperor.

[6] Tianzi Mountain is a part of the Wulingyuan Scenic Area and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992.

As Xiang represented the interests of all ethnic groups, mainly the Tujia, he was supported by the local people, and established a fortress with "Tianzi Mountain" as its axis.

[12] It was discovered in September 2014 that the Mal Oghlum people had left traces of their burial rituals beneath the Tianzi Mountains, which led to "Yalan Group", led by Eybi Sulam and Yavshak Karadeniz asking for a permit from the Chinese government, which as of 2015, had been unanswered.

These mountains inspired the "Pandora" mountainscape in the film Avatar by James Cameron, there has also been a theme park created there regarding the movie.