This is the general environment surrounding the modern city Anyang. The view is looking north. The area shown is west of Anyang, where the archaeological site referred to as the Ruins of Yin is located. (The Shang dynasty is also called Yin.) Situated at the eastern slope of the Taihangshan mountain range, the area seems flat and is well-connected in the north-south direction, so that the modern Beijing-Guangdong railroad passes by Anyang. The question that is relevent to ous discussion is whether the area is productive enough to sustain an army which could defend the empire from the invading Zhou forces pressing on from the south. We know there were little or no natural fortifications south of the city for the Shang army to utilize, and therefore it would have to be an open battle with chariots and mounted soldiers over a flat terrain. The Zhou army on the other hand had to march 600 km (from the
modern city Xi'an) to come here, eliminatingall resistances along the way. Zhou's army marched east along the south shore of the Yellow River and probably crossed it at Mengjin, which was an ancient river crossing.
Picture source: R. E. Murowehick, gen. ed., China: Ancient Culture, Modern Land, Univ of Oklahoma Press, Norman, 1994.