倭寇是明朝一心腹大患，其对明帝国的骚扰，自洪武朝到崇祯朝几未断绝，但一般限于东南沿海地区。然而嘉靖时期，倭寇肆虐异常，在嘉靖三十四年，几乎横扫整个南直隶，今安徽辖下的各地方府城也未能幸免。明代安徽位于天下之中，距海较远，承平日久，城防早已废弛，面对倭寇，毫无抵抗之力。但这次在倭寇的侵扰下，开始了废弛已久的大规模的城防建设活动。

The Japanese was a serious problem of the Ming Dynasty. Its harassment of the Ming Empire persisted from Hongwu dynasty to Chongzhen, but was generally confined to the southeast coastal area. However, in the Jiajing period, Japanese ravage was especially severe. In Jiajing 34 years（1555）, they almost swept across the South Zhili, and even Anhui's local towns were not spared. The Ming Dynasty Anhui was located in the middle, far from the sea. It had been peaceful for a long time and city defense had long been neglected. It had no ability to resist the Japanese. With the intrusion of the Japanese, it began the defense construction activities, and achieved remarkable results.