noun
ideal topography for the Four Symbols; geomantic configuration with four guardian gods
A traditional Chinese geomancy concept describing an ideal site layout: river to the east (Azure Dragon), broad avenue to the west (White Tiger), basin to the south (Vermilion Bird), and hill to the north (Black Tortoise). Used in historical city planning and feng shui contexts.
平安京は四神相応の地に造られたとされる。
Heian-kyō is said to have been built on a site with ideal topography for the Four Symbols.
From Chinese geomancy, combining 四神 (four guardian gods) and 相応 (correspondence, suitability). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is conventionally associated with ideal site selection in traditional East Asian city planning.