The Jilu Fortress, an important military construction on a section of the Great Wall built during the Han dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD), has undergone two years of restoration in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The name of the fortress has appeared in a large number of literary work written by famous Chinese poets through history and literally translates to English as "chicken and deer".

"Who stirred up fighting at Jilu Fortress, as fire beacons were sent from the frontier ceaselessly," wrote famous Chinese Tang dynasty (618-907) poet Li Shangyin.

The ruins of the rock fortress cover 4,700 square meters in the shape of a square. There are defense walls surrounding the interior city, while beacon towers can be seen in the distance from the north and southwest directions of the ancient city.

Wang Weiqing, cultural chief in Dengkou County, said the restoration began in 2016 with 10.12 million yuan (US$1.45 million) of funds earmarked by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

The repair aimed to use traditional building techniques to restore the fortress back to its original look, he said.

Along with the restoration, the region's cultural relic institute carried out archeological research on the ruins, which further assisted the restoration work in line with the original layout, said Wang.

The Great Wall was built over centuries as a defense by the imperial court against northern tribes. The oldest sections of the Great Wall date back to around 200 B.C., when the first emperor of Qin required a fortress to be built.

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