Review article

The article is the first part of the study devoted to the formation and development of the spatial planning structure of the ancient city of Anyang, the first capital of China. The main aspects of the influence imposed by the landscape, historical, and political factors on the formation of the initial structure of the city in the period from the XIV century BC up to 580 A D are highlighted. This period is designated as the prehistory of Anyang, the city which was formed in the course of two millennia, but it did not have an initially unified territory, continually changing its location, including the neighboring settlements and even a town on the opposite bank of the Yellow River.