Jingshan is known as the Coal Hill in the West because it was once a place for coal storage. According to traditional Chinese fengshui, the Forbidden City should have a hill to its north. In 1420, the Ming Emperor Zhu Di built a Hill of Longevity north of the imperial palace from the soil removed from the old city wall and the moat. He ordered that flowers and trees be planted on the hill and cranes and deer be raised there. Every year on the Double Ninth Day, he would climb up the hill and pray for an uneventful year.

In 1644, Li Zicheng, leader of the rebellious peasants, besieged Beijing. Hopeless, the emperor Chongzhen wounded his daughter and hanged himself on a locust tree up the eastern side of the hill.

In 1655, the succeeding Qing rulers renamed the hill Jingshan, and named the tree Guilty Locust in an attempt to appease the followers of the deceased Ming emperor. In 1750, five pavilions were built on each of the five peaks. There used to be a bronze statue of a god in each of the pavilions. Unfortunately four of them were stolen by the allied forces of the eight powers in 1900, and the one on the uppermost pavilion was totally damaged. The Pavilion of Wanchun (Ten Thousand Spring) was the highest point (43 meters) in Beijing at that time, offering a breath-taking view of the Forbidden City.

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