Hengchun Township

Looking at the historical development of this town, we can find that at least 5,000 years ago, there were humans living in the current area under the jurisdiction of this town with the Paleolithic culture. While there are more than 1,000 Neolithic human activities on the island of Taiwan, there are at least 30 or 40 settlements in this town with the same cultural level.

Since about 1500 years ago, the aborigines of the Amis, Paiwan and Pingpu have been active in the town and have become the protagonists of the town’s historical stage.

However, it was not until the 17th century that the town at the southern end of the small island in the continental frontier ocean was noticed by the Netherlands, the Ming, Zheng and Qing dynasties until it developed to the border of Eurasia and then to the vast ocean.

Since the Netherlands only took this town to Taitung at most, although Ming Zheng established Tainan, he regarded this town as the best natural prison for exiled criminals. For nearly two centuries, the Qing government regarded this town as a gathering place for refugees and thieves and ordered the ban.

The Han people entered the town. Since the establishment of Hengchun County in the first year of Guangxu, with this town as the county government, the town has developed by leaps and bounds for 20 years.

During this period, a large number of Han people and Han culture were introduced into the town, and the aborigines were gradually Sinicized. A century of governance during the Japanese occupation and the Republic of China made the town move from Sinicization to modernization.

However, due to the policy of emphasizing the north and ignoring the south, the modernization construction of this town is far behind others. So far, it still seems to be sluggish in business and commerce, population migration, culture and education. It is still unable to get rid of the predicament that has existed for 5,000 years

Hengchun County is located in Hengchun Town, Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the seat of Hengchun County established by the Qing Dynasty after the Mudan Incident.

It was built on October 18, the first year of Guangxu (November 15, 1875). Completed on July 15 (September 1, 1879), it is the only one in Taiwan that preserves all the city gates.

The ruins of the castle were designated as one of the historical sites and natural monuments on December 5, the tenth year of the Showa era (1935) during the Japanese occupation period. It is a second-class historic site in Fujian and later changed to a national historic site.

Hengchun area, formerly known as Lang, was originally under the jurisdiction of Fengshan County, but in fact Fengshan County has limited jurisdiction over this area.

After the Luofa incident and the Peony Club incident, Shen Baozhen was ordered to come to Taiwan in June of the thirteenth year of Tongzhi (1874) to deal with the coastal defense and the aftermath.

Went to Lang to investigate, and later Shen Baozhen himself also made an investigation on December 13th, and then gave a performance on December 23rd. In his memorial, it was mentioned that he could choose the “15 li south of Checheng” according to the views of Xia and Liu Zhi.

 “Monkey Cave” was the county seat, and Liu Ao, who was “a good acquaintance with Kanyu Jiayan”, planned to handle the construction of the city. He also proposed the county name “Hengchun”.

Later, Hengchun County started construction on October 18 (November 15, 1875) in the next year, the first year of Guangxu. It was completed on July 15, Guangxu five years (September 1, 1879).

During the Japanese occupation period, Hengchun County was damaged by a typhoon in the 41st year of Meiji (1908) [5], and was designated as one of the natural monuments of historical sites and scenic spots on December 5th in the tenth year of the Showa era (1935). . During the Second World War, Hengchun County was also affected by the war and was damaged.

Later, in the 48th year of the Republic of China (1959), it was hit by an earthquake and was again damaged. It was demolished in the second year (1963) and the fifty-seventh year of the Republic of China (1968).

In the 68th year of the Republic of China (1979), the relics of Hengchun County were listed as a tentative first-class historic site, and the Pingtung County Government also rebuilt the South Gate Tower under the subsidy of the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Communications of the Executive Yuan in the same year. In 1983), the East Gate Tower was rebuilt, but due to defects in the renovation process, it was downgraded to a second-class historic site when it was announced in the seventy-fourth year of the Republic of China (1985).

Among the two rebuilt towers, the east gate tower was destroyed again in 1998 due to termites.