Its historic name was Mount Kuaiji (), formerly romanized as Mount K'uai-chi. It was an important site for ancient China's Yue civilization and was legendarily connected with the Xia dynasty's Yu the Great, who was said to have convened a gathering of his nobles there and to have died at the spot during a hunting trip. The mountain continued to preserve the Yue language even after its conquest by Qin in 222 BC. It gave its name to the Kuaiji Mountains to its south, as well as China's former Kuaiji Commandery and (by extension) historical names for Suzhou and Shaoxing. It was also the site of the AD 353 Orchid Pavilion Gathering which produced the Lantingji Xu.