Manganese (Mn) in coal gangue (CG) can migrate into surrounding soil and water bodies, thereby posing health risks to humans. Limited research has been conducted on the effects of homogeneous and heterogeneous soils on the transformation and release of Mn from CG. The release and transformation of Mn from CG were observed using column tests with six cover treatments (no cover, CK; 30-cm sandy loess, T1; 30-cm Pisha sandstone, T2; 30-cm mixed soil, T3; 15-cm Pisha sandstone overlying 15-cm sandy loess, T4; and 15-cm sandy loess overlying 15-cm Pisha sandstone, T5). Hydraulic and solute transport parameters of soils and CG were optimized using the measured water content and chloride ion (Cl-) concentration and used in the HYDRUS 1D to simulate Mn transport. The model simulated Mn concentration with R-2 values of 0.829-0.852 and root mean square error values of 0.304-0.405 mg L--(1) for all treatments. Soils as geochemical barrier significantly reduced the release of Mn from CG by influencing the exchangeable and carbonate-bound fractions, which decreased by 2.71%-6.05% and 3.41%-7.84%, respectively, at the end of the 1-year column experiments. Relative to the control, the cumulative mass of Mn released from CG decreased by 3.45%, 14.36%, 4.64%, 11.61%, and 7.28% for the T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5 treatments, respectively. Based on these findings, Pisha sandstone overlay is proposed as a promising strategy to decrease the release of Mn from CG into the surrounding environment.