Qufu: Confucius' birthplace and historic home

As a geographer, I wondered if the flat alluvial terrain of the Qufu area had indeed been influenced by the Yellow River’s many historic course changes. Its regular floods deposited alluvium while the hills near Qufu had at one time maybe been islands? It certainly looked that way for there are plenty of waterways in the area, some of which appeared navigable by small boat. Indeed Qufu’s name literally translates as "crooked hill”, referring to a kilometer-long hill within its then urban area. That was during a time as capital of the State of Lu within the Spring and Autumn period. Then the city walls were considerably larger than the Ming-era fortifications that remain today for it included a greater land area both east and north.