The 18th dynasty of the Hùng king was defeated by Thục Phán's army in 257 BC. These were the last line of rulers of the Hồng Bàng dynasty of Văn Lang. Thục Phán declared himself An Dương Vương (which translates to "Peaceful Virile King") and renamed Văn Lang to Âu Lạc. He established a citadel above the Red River Valley in Cổ Loa, which is present-day Hanoi Dong Anh district.

In his new position, An Dương Vương was an intelligent ruler and a talented tactician, who used the confusion and turmoil in China to take control of new territory and establish a separate state for his people. At this time, China had several battles between Warring States as each fought for control over neighboring states. The Qin state ended up rising to power and unified China in 211 BC under Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who ordered the construction of the Great Wall. During this time, An Dương Vương began the construction of Cổ Loa Citadel (Cổ Loa Thành) to serve as a spiral fortress to defend his state against future invasions. It is unknown why he chose this design, but construction was said to be incredibly difficult. This was established as his new capital. Legends say that every time it approached completion, evil spirits would undo the work.

An Dương Vương burned incense and made offerings to gods to scare away the spirits. One night, an old man approached him in a dream and told him the only person who could help build the citadel was a golden turtle, who lived in Cổ Loa.

A few days later, he meets the golden turtle while in a boat on the river. The golden turtle offered one of its claws to help An Dương Vương with his plan and vanished soon after. After this interaction, An Dương Vương asked Cao Lỗ, his weaponry engineer, to craft a crossbow that incorporated the golden claw. After completion, his kingdom prospered and those who coveted his territory increased in size.

Triệu Đà, a Qin general, tried for ten years, between 197 and 179 BC, to conquer Âu Lạc, but failed every time. After forming a peace treaty withÂu Lạc, he hatched a scheming proposal for his son, Trọng Thủy, and An Dương Vương's daughter, Mỵ Châu, to marry. Triệu Đà learned of the magical crossbow and how it made An Dương Vương invincible. He asked his son to sneak into An Dương Vương's palace and steal the crossbow by replacing it with a fake replica.

Trọng Thủy earned Mỵ Châu's trust and manipulated her into stealing the magic crossbow. She successfully takes it and it is given to Triệu Đà, who wished to end King An Dương Vương's dynasty. Triệu Đà attacked, forcing King An Dương Vương and Mỵ Châu to flee to the sea, after seeing his troops defeated. King An Dương Vương asked the golden turtle, who made the magical crossbow, to help.

The golden turtle revealed that Mỵ Châu was his enemy, so An Dương Vương killed his daughter and disappeared into the sea with the golden turtle. Her blood flowed into the sea and turned into pearls. Trọng Thủy searched for his wife and discovered her body a few minutes after she was killed. After learning of Mỵ Châu's death, Trọng Thủy jumped into the well to join his wife. Pearls appeared in the well water as well. The especially bright sign of the pearls serve as a symbol of their undying love.

In other versions, it is said that Trọng Thủy takes Mỵ Châu's body home. When he gained control of Âu Lạc, he became depressed, missing his wife. One day, he took a bath in the well and saw his wife's reflection in the water. He jumped into the well to be with her and ended up drowning. Some say he killed himself because his felt guilty over the murder of his wife.

After the defeat of King An Dương Vương, Triệu Đà created the combined state of Nam Việt and declared himself the first emperor of the Triệu dynasty, which lasted from 207 to 111 BC.

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