／The Holy Mountain of the Atayal Tribe／

Why did the Dabajian Mountain become the Atayal tribe's holy mountain? There was a story inside it.

In order to find a livable place, the chieftain of the Atayal, Buta, decided to lead the tribe to move northward into the the top Dabajian Mountain after walking throughout large and small mountains of Taiwan. There are five major basins flowing through the Dabajian Mountain. A vast hinterland of each basin not only contains rich natural resources, but also provides sufficient living space for the tribe. Therefore the Dabajian Mountain became a very important place for the tribes of Hsinchu, Miaoli, Taichung, and Yilan. They regarded the Dabajian Mountain as the "Holy Mountain. "

Being Steep and upstanding, the Dabajian Mountain and the Xiaobajian Mountain in southwest side look like a pair of ears among mountains, so the Atayal people call them “Babo Papak”, meaning "ears mountains".

The Dabajian Mountain（Image source：Shei-Pa National Park）

Near the Jinping bridge in Jianshih Township, there is the statue of Atayal Warrior. The warriror holds a dagger and is ready to go hunting. The statue is commemorating Buta, the great ancestor of the Atayal tribe.

His finger directs to the Dabajian Mountain, as saying “Wow! I finally found a livable place for my people around the Dabajian Mountain, where we can live and develop.”

The great ancestor of the Atayal tribe directs to the Dabajian Mountain.