---
title: "The Marks and Symbols on a Xiangqi Board, Explained"
description: "The small corner marks show where cannons and soldiers start, the X marks the palace, the river text is decoration, and edge numbers label the files."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-are-the-marks-and-symbols-on-a-xiangqi-board
updated: 2026-09-29
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What are the small marks and symbols printed on a xiangqi board?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> Four things are printed on a standard board besides the grid. The **small corner-shaped marks** show the starting points of the cannons and soldiers. The **X in each palace** marks the general's nine-point box and the advisor's diagonal moves. The **writing in the river** is traditional decoration. And many boards print **file numbers** along the edges for reading notation.

## The corner marks are a setup aid

Look closely and you will see little right-angle ticks around fourteen points: on each side, the two cannon points and the five soldier points. They exist purely to help you set up; they have no effect on play. On the outermost files the mark is drawn only on the inner side, because there is no board beyond the edge.

Once you know the setup you stop noticing them, but for a beginner they answer the most common setup question: which rank do the cannons go on? The marked one, two ranks in front of the horses. Full details are on [the board setup page](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/board-setup).

## The X in the palace

Each palace is a 3×3 box of points with two diagonals drawn through it. The box marks the area the general and advisors may never leave; the diagonals are the lines the advisor moves along. The general does not use them. See [what the palace is](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-palace-in-xiangqi) for how this shapes attack and defence.

## The river writing and the edge numbers

The characters in the river, most often 楚河 and 漢界, refer to an ancient border and change nothing about the rules; [this post explains the phrase](https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-does-chu-he-han-jie-mean). Some boards print other text there, or nothing.

The numbers along the top and bottom edges, where a board has them, label the nine files from each player's right. Red's side is often numbered in Chinese numerals and Black's in Arabic numerals, matching how each side's moves are written. They are the key to [reading notation](https://xiangqimaster.com/rules/notation).

## Related questions

Does a board without the corner marks still work?

Yes. The marks are a convenience only; the game is identical without them, as long as you place the cannons and soldiers on the right points.

Do the marks mean anything during the game?

No. A piece standing on a marked point has no special status, and nothing in the rules refers to them.

## Related xiangqi resources

Board setup

The board, the river, the palace, and where the 32 pieces go

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Xiangqi rules

The complete reference, rule by rule

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.