The Xianyang Plain in the hinterland of Guanzhong and at the junction of Jingwei and Jingwei is the main gathering place for the imperial tombs of the Western Han Dynasty. In the 214th year of the Western Han Dynasty, 11 emperors built 11 mausoleums, 9 of which were located on the Xianyang Plain. The most important of them were the Five Tombs, namely Gaozu Changling, Huidi Anling, Jingdi Yangling, and Wu Emperor Maoling. and Emperor Zhao's Pingling Tomb. At that time, these Wulings were all built and managed by mausoleums, so they were called "Wulingyuan". There are descriptions in ancient poems that "Wuling's young people are fighting for their heads" and "Wuling's fur horses are light and fat".
Maoling is located in the northeast of Xingping City, Shaanxi Province, with the "Wulingyuan" stretching hundreds of miles to the east and west. It is 12 kilometers away from Xingping City in the west and 15 kilometers away from Xianyang City in the east. It is far away from Jiuwei Mountain to the north and Zhongnan Mountain to the south. Legend has it that during a hunting trip, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che discovered a unicorn-like animal and an everlasting fruit tree near Maoxiang. He believed that Maoxiang was a geomantic treasure land, so he issued an edict to confine the place and began to build a mausoleum. . This place originally belonged to Mao Township in Huaili County during the Han Dynasty, so it was called "Maoling".
The overall geographical features of Maoling are the loess landforms of the Weihe Plain in the Loess Plateau, which are uneven and patchwork from north to south. The natural vegetation is good and has regional characteristics. This area belongs to the rich layer of geothermal water.