During the Sui dynasty, stone and brick were introduced as material for building pagodas. The Four-Gates Pagoda was built from blocks quarried from a hard local rock. All extant older stone pagodas are sculptured pagodas or columns in the shape of a pagoda. The simple design of the Four Gates Pagoda is typical for one-storey, pavilion-style pagodas: It has a square cross-section delineated by plane side walls. All elements of the structure are symmetrical with four identical sides each facing one of the four cardinal directions. In the center of each wall is a door with straight sides and round arch on top (hence the name). The roof of the pagoda is pyramid shaped. It consists of 23 tiers of overlapping stone slabs and is supported by five tiers of stone eaves. The tip of the roof is occupied by a stone steeple. The overall shape of the steeple resembles a box-shaped pagoda which is carved with Buddhist scriptures and sits on its own Sumeru pedestal with stone corner decorations in the shape of banana leaves. The spire of the steeple is made up of five stone discs. The total height of the pagoda is 10.4 meters; each side is 7.4 meters long.