Long before they were ever displayed in carved wood bases, stones were displayed in shallow ceramic or stone trays. Murals discovered in a Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) tomb show people carrying trays with rocks. Some paintings showed a single rock while other depicted multiple stones. These show a common origin of rock penjing landscapes and the appreciation of individual rocks as viewing stones. This article will explore the modern rock penjing often seen in gardens throughout China.

Chinese penjing can be divided into two main categories—tree penjing and landscape penjing. In rock penjing, a subcategory of landscape penjing, natural rock serves as the medium of expression. One or several pieces of rock are arranged on a very shallow tray (shui pen in Chinese) to create a miniature natural scene found in nature. This often depicts scenes found in the Huangshan (Yellow Mountains) in Anhui province, the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River, or the spectacular scenery along the Li River between Guilin and Yangshuo in Guangxi province. Fine examples of these rock penjing can be found in the penjing Garden in Yangzhou and in the penjing collection at the Shanghai Botanical Garden.

The trays used in rock penjing typically range from 30 cm (about 12 inches) to 200 cm (nearly 80 inches) wide and are rectangular or oval in shape. Larger examples are known. The depth of the trays are roughly 1/3th to 1/4th of the width. They may be carved from white marble or from glazed or unglazed ceramics. Mostly, they are shallow trays, although flat pieces of stone or cut marble are used for smaller tray landscapes.

Different types of rocks are used in these arrangements. Ying stones from Guangdong province are found in many traditional arrangements. Other stones used in making tray landscape are Turtle Shell, Bamboo Shoot, Xuan, Snow Flower, and Fu Pi. Recently, some the few remaining artists creating fine tray landscapes have begun to use hard, silica-based stones from the Gobi Desert. The type of rock selected depends upon the type of landscape scene the artist wishes to create. For example, strong vertically oriented stones for a single, twin or multiple peaked landscape scene will more likely use Ying or Bamboo Shoot stones; a horizontally oriented mountain range or cliff style scene may use the Snow Flower or Gobi Desert stones. Normally, only one type of stone is used in an arrangement. Mixing stone types in a single arrangement is not considered to be harmonious. Once the artist has decided upon the type of landscape scene he wishes to create, he proceeds to cut the stones to have flat bases. He then positions them on the tray often trying several arrangements before settling on the final plan. Then, the stones are glued to the tray. In some scenes, the artist will use tiny figures, a small bridge, pagoda or other small items to add definition to the scene.