City Background

The Hengchun ancient city wall is the best preserved of its kind, with its east, west, south and north gates intact and partial walls remained in Taiwan.

It is a Class 2 ancient monument.

The city's perimeter is 8,800 ft.

The foundation of the 16ft-tall walls is 20ft thick. Based on the scale and layout of the city, there are four gates each located in different directions and named according to their direction. The south gate is also known as Mingdou Gate which was built in 1875 (Guangsui 1st Year, Cing Dynasty).

Over the past 120 years or so, though there were natural disasaters, .wars, and political, social and economic changes, and most facilities of the ancient city were either damaged or disappeared, these four gates survive. They are the best witnesses of history, materials for local education, and resources for developing Hengchun into the tourism center of Pingtung area.

Recalling how ancestors endured great hardships in cultivating the land against severe weathers, such as typhoons in summer .and mountain winds in winter, we will discover how difficult it was for early settlers to keep the city.

People who are interested in finding their roots by visiting ancient cities should understand the track of history, and more importantly, preserve the cultural properties well.

http://www.ntas.gov.tw/county/ntas_h/english/rs_hengchun.jsp