 Its territory held only 86,869 people in 25,637 households in 639 but recovered to 496,676 people in 78,090 households by 742.In 1055, under the Song, the city became the home of the Liaodi Pagoda, which is today China's tallest surviving pre-modern pagoda.Under the early Republic, it was known as Dingxian (then romanized "Tingsien" or "Ting Hsien") from its status as the seat of Ding County.