<p>The mechanical behaviour of granular materials under moving surface loads has been previously investigated through hollow cylinder tests or structural body tests. Nevertheless, the influences of self-weight-induced stress and residual stress have typically been neglected in these investigations. This study developed a structural model comprising irregular cohesionless-frictional particles subjected to moving surface loads, employing the two-dimensional (2D) discrete element method (DEM) for computational analysis. The findings reveal that both self-weight-induced stress and residual stress significantly influence the macro- and micro-mechanical behaviours of the material. The horizontal stress demonstrates an asymmetric distribution throughout load application, primarily attributed to the existence of horizontal residual stresses. This asymmetric distribution gradually diminishes with increasing structural depth as the residual stress decays. Moreover, the deviatoric stress exhibits an asymmetric cardioid-shaped evolution pattern during shear stress development. With increasing structural depth, the asymmetry of the stress evolution gradually attenuates, primarily due to the reduction in residual stress. The evolutionary pattern transitions from a cardioid-shaped to an oval-shaped profile, resulting from the enhanced influence of self-weight-induced stress. Furthermore, the principal direction of normal contact force anisotropy evolves in a manner closely aligned with the principal stress direction. The principal directions of anisotropies demonstrate near-coaxial alignment exclusively when the surface load traverses directly above the monitored elements.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>