In the early years of Chu's development, the state capital was located at Danyang, near modern-day Xichuan County in Henan Province.
Following a number of battles with neighboring states the Chu capital moved to Ying, near modern-day Jingzhou City on the Jianghan Plain in the western part of Hubei Province.
According to historian Shi Quan (石泉), Ying was located at the same place as the Qin and Han dynasty Jiangling City (modern-day Jingzhou), between the Ju (沮) and Zhang (漳) rivers.
This lay in the eponymous former State of Ruo on the borders of Qin which had been previously annexed by Chu and that the residents continued to call Ying.
Ying occupied a strategic location with Yunmeng to the East, Ewuba (扼巫巴) to the west, access to the Central China Plain to the north and the natural defenses of the Yangtze River protecting its southern approaches.