 Thousands of years ago, before the Yangtze Delta we know today had formed, the Lonely Hill was a small island in the Yangtze estuary, and the only piece of dry land within the boundaries of today's Jingjiang county-level city.It is thought that it was not until 1488 that it became fully surrounded by land.The Buddhist temple on top of the hill (Gushan Si, "The Lonely Hill Temple") and the adjacent town (Gushan Town) received their names from the hill.