Mountain Excavation and City Construction(MECC)represents a prominent anthropo-genic endeavor aimed at facilitating urban expansion in the Loess Plateau of China.It is important to comprehend the long-term settlement behavior at MECC engineering sites to effectively assess the proj-ect's success in reshaping landscapes and expanding urban areas.In this study,a typical MECC proj-ect,specifically the upstream area of the Liujiagou Valley within the new district of Yan'an City,is se-lected as a case study to investigate long-term settlement characteristics.The research involved con-ducting creep tests on soil samples with varying dry densities and moisture content and continuous in-situ monitoring of ground surface settlement at 17 specific points.Furthermore,a numerical model was developed and calibrated using the in-situ monitoring data to predict the long-term settlement.The findings reveal that an increase in soil dry density and a decrease in soil water content contribute to re-duced deformation.Notably,settlement primarily manifests within the filled areas,with greater soil thickness exacerbating settlement effects.Over time,cumulative settlement exhibits a progressively di-minishing rate of deformation until it attains a stable state.These results provide insights for assessing the long-term stability of MECC projects,facilitating decision-making in future endeavors within this region.