The ancient town looks like a cross when viewed from above, with an total area of 68 hectares. Two waterways intersect at the town, they are the Shihe River is from north to south, and that of the ancient Grand Canal from east to west.

The town developed due to the to the waterways. The waterway became streets and houses were constructed beside the waterways. boats were used for transportation.

The waterways intersected within the town, which is surrounded by an outer ring of waterway. The traffic pattern of the ancient town has the land traffic parallel to the water traffic; the street is in front and the waterway in the rear. In the whole town, the waterways has a total length of 4.5 kilometers.