The site is located about 16 km south-west of the city, in the valley of the Shi Li river at the base of the Wuzhou Shan mountains. The grottoes were mainly constructed in the period between 460-525 AD during the Northern Wei dynasty. They are an outstanding example of the Chinese stone carvings from the 5th and 6th centuries. All together the site is composed of 252 grottoes with more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes.

Fifty-three grottoes remain at Yungang today, with some 51,000 statues. The tallest among these is 17 meters high, the smallest is only a few centimeters. Carving techniques build on and further develop the traditional arts of the Qin and Han dynasties, but also absorb and merge into these the artistic traditions of both India and western regions.

Of the existing 53 grottoes, 21 are spacious and divided into three distinct groups: the eastern, middle and western. The eastern group (Grottoes 1 to 4) contains mainly pillars and Buddhist statues; the middle group (Grottoes 5 to 13) and the western group (Grottoes 14 to 21) are the most splendid.