A mesa is an isolated, flat-topped elevation, ridge or hill, which is bounded from all sides by steep escarpments and stands distinctly above a surrounding plain. Mesas characteristically consist of flat-lying soft sedimentary rocks capped by a more resistant layer or layers of harder rock, e.g. shales overlain by sandstones. The resistant layer acts as a caprock that forms the flat summit of a mesa. The caprock can consist of either sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone; dissected lava flows; or a deeply eroded duricrust. Unlike plateau, whose usage does not imply horizontal layers of bedrock, e.g. Tibetan Plateau, the term mesa applies exclusively to the landforms built of flat-lying strata. Instead, flat-topped plateaus are specifically known as tablelands.
Jiexiu City is located in the hinterland of Shanxi Province, to the south of Taiyuan Basin, with geographical coordinates of 111 °44 °10 "- 112 °10" E and 36 °50 °01 "- 37 °11 °04" N, bordering Fenyang City and Pingyao County in the north and northeast, Qinyuan County in the southeast, Lingshi County in the southwest and Xiaoyi City in the northwest. Jiexiu belongs to the temperate monsoon climate zone, cold in winter and summer in summer, with four distinct seasons. The city has jurisdiction over 5 streets, 7 towns and 3 townships, with a total administrative area of 744 square kilometers and a resident population of 436000 (2017). Jiexiu City is known as "the hometown of the three sages", Jiexiu, who was divided into shares in the Spring and Autumn period, Guo Linzong, who wrote Botong classics in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Wen Yanbo, who has been in office for 50 years in the Northern Song Dynasty.