Table 1 Alternative independent variables.

Type	Independent variables	Data sources	Spatial resolution (m)	Coordinate system	Calculation method
Natural factors	Altitude	DEM	28.07, 28.07	Geographic coordinate system: GCS_WGS_1984 Projected coordinate system: WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_50N	–
	Slope				ArcGIS → slope
	Aspect				ArcGIS → aspect
	Topographic relief				ArcGIS → block statistics
Cultural factors	Distance from traffic routes	Routes of urgent delivery stations in the Ming Dynasty²³			ArcGIS → cost distance
Cultural factors	Distance from nearest beacon tower or fort	Beacon sites data, military forts data in the Ming Dynasty²³			ArcGIS → near analysis

Topographic relief and slope were the main two factors considered in the calculation of cost distance, and the equation used to calculate the cost distance was “cost distance = topographic relief × 0.4 + slope × 0.6”²⁴.

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