Shankoucun is a village on the Ba Sing Se Highway, just inside the borders of the northern Earth Kingdom province of [[Avatar/Shanbei Province|Shanbei]]. As reflected in its name, the nearby mountain pass between the Chief Peak and Northern Barrier Mountains is important to its history and economy; the village is host to many inns and other service-oriented businesses catering to travelers, such as winehouses, markets, fortune-tellers, physicians, scribes, warehouses, brokers, brothels, and stables. An official of the Hao Ting presides over a yamen and small barracks charged with defending fortifications at the mountain pass, but the fortifications are in a state of disrepair and the soldiers have mostly been taken by northern warlords such as [[Avatar/General Yi|General Yi]], leaving the town with only a half-dozen city guards. Ethnically, the town is mostly Zhongzu and Beituzhu, with some Yonggan and Ganjinese.