According to some books and websites barrier walls is exclusive to the Gubeikou-Jinshanling-Simatai area, however this is not true. At least one place these small walls, perpendicular to the main wall, can be seen in the eastern part of Hebei province namely at Damaoshan north of Qinhuangdao.
On the steep sections of the wall the soldiers would be exposed to enemy weapons, so the the barrier wall was added to give extra protection leaving only a small passage for the soldiers to walk.
Another function would be to protect the soldiers in the event that the enemy gained access to the wall, so the defending soldiers could fight the enemy and stay protected at the same time.
At Damaoshan the barrier walls are only 8-9 bricks high so it seems that the main purpose of these walls was to protect the soldiers from enemy fire once the enemy was close to the wall.
The hight of these walls at Damaoshan would make it difficult for the soldiers to hide behind them and even more difficult to fight the enemy while protected by the walls even though each barrier wall is equipped with one shooting/watch hole.
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