The hathpace residences of Kashi are built on the loess cliff with the highest altitude in the southeast of the old town Kashgar. It is said that they came into being over two thousand years ago. "Hathpace residence" means clay pottery on the high cliff in Uyghur, which originates from the fact that many of the residents here in the Cliff Era were craftsmen producing clay pottery. Nowadays, local residents have lived here generation after generation and created the highly distinctive architectural form - "castles in the air". 

In history, the north and south slopes of the high cliff used to be connected with each other, forming a north-south directional high cliff, over one thousand meter long and 30 to 50 meters high. Afterwards, a large gap was created by a flood, separating the cliff into two halves in the north and south respectively. The south cliff is where the hathpace residences are located.