After the Qing army in Korea was defeated in the Battle of Pyongyang, they fled north and only stopped in Anju.
Anju is located 180 li south of Pyongyang, bordered by the Chongchon River to the north and surrounded by mountains to the south. It is the largest town north of Pyongyang. This was a necessary route for the Japanese army's northward advance, and the city walls were high, allowing the Qing army to completely block the Japanese advance here.
160 li northwest of Anju lies Jeongju in Korea, also a strategically important and dangerous place.
Ye Zhichao, leading the remnants of the Pyongyang campaign, retreated to Anzhou, where he gathered over ten thousand men. Nie Shicheng advised Ye Zhichao to hold off the Japanese army in Anzhou and Dingzhou while awaiting reinforcements. Howe
