The Stone Forest is composed of countless high and spectacular stone pillars, but how did these pillars come into being from the initial intact limestone? In short, it is because the limestone at first was vertically fractured by tectonic compression. Horizontally, the rock was cracked into a chessboard pattern. Then water and organisms dissolved and attacked the rock along these crevices and fissures, and along with the deepening and widening of the fissures, isolated stone pillars took shape. Finally, tectonic movement made these stone pillars appear on the ground surface and group into stone forest clusters.

When limestone compressed by tectonic process, two  or more vertical joint sets developed in the rock, dissecting horizontally the rock into chessboard pattern. Subsequent water solution enlarges the fissures (joints) and gives rise to isolated stone pillars, collectively constituting the stone forest.

One set of joint dissects the rock into stone ridges

Two sets of joints dissect the rock into pillars

The stone forest is created mainly by subsoil solution of groundwater, i.e. stone pillars take shape underground, and latter crop out due to tectonic movement

Various solution karrens and grooves that fretted the rock surface are created by rainwater after the rock exposed on ground