Back at home, Feng applied himself to the study of Confucian classics and gave lectures in Baoqing Temple. Later, he also invited Wang Keshou, the highest administrator of the province, to join his lectures. At the peak, the lectures attracted thousands of students, and Guanzhong Shuyuan was built to accommodate them.

Not long after the academy of ancient learning was built, the eunuch Wei Zhongxian destroyed Donglin Shuyuan, and as Guanzhong Shuyuan was also targeted, as Feng was punished. Later the Shuyuan was abolished by an imperial order, and was only rebuilt many years later in the third year during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. It was revamped and converted to Shaanxi Normal School in the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Currently, it is the site of Xi'an Teachers' School and its subordinate primary school.

Shuyuanmen is also a place where all the imperial exams on Guanzhong Plain were held since the Ming Dynasty. The board and lodging of the exam participants were all on the street, adding an extra cultural glamour to the place. 

Prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Shuyuanmen had been tortured by various hardships for hundreds of years. The saloons, teahouses, and other shops that once flourished on the streets had long gone. What were left were only some shabby houses and a dilapidated street, constituting a very unpleasant contrast with the Forest of Steles Museum not far away.

In 1990, the municipal government launched a large-scale revamping project, which was finished by June of the following year. Shuyuanmen reclaimed its ancient character and charm, and opened to the public in October 1991.

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