The work was compiled by Shi Duchen, who received the title of jin shi (doctoral degree) in the 35th year of the Jiajing reign (1556) and later became the governor of Shuntian Fu (present-day Beijing). The work depicts the dams and dikes of the Huguang region, which included Hubei and Hunan provinces. The Xiang, Zi, Yuan and Li Rivers converge on the Yangtze River at Lake Dongting in northeastern Hunan, which is known as the water country. During the reign of Emperor Jiajing of the Ming dynasty (1522-1566), three imperial bureaus issued decrees ordering the building of dams and dikes. Shi Duchen was assigned to supervise the construction. This work contains annotated illustrations of each of the dams and dikes built. The author's preface is dated 1568.