Yuányáng

Yuanyang lies on the Yellow River plain north of Zhengzhou, in the lands once divided between Yuanwu and Yangwu counties. Their history was closely tied to the river's shifting course. In 1391 a breach at Heiyangshan in Yuanwu sent the Yellow River east past Kaifeng and eventually into the Huai. A later gazetteer of Yangwu describes the river moving south of the county town during the Jiajing reign, with floods repeatedly covering houses and fields along its banks.