Mine Pit Mining Area Introduction
Located in Gongguan Mining Village, it is the birthplace of oil in Taiwan. The earliest discovery of oil in Taiwan was in the 22nd year of the Qing Jiaqing period (1813 AD) at the site of the "Chuhuang Pit No. 1 Well," approximately eighty meters to the right and front of the main entrance of the Chuhuang Pit. This was the first well drilled by the Japanese, who drilled a total of 99 wells due to the rich oil source at Chuhuang Pit. The name Chuhuang Pit originated from the local people discovering a sulfur-colored liquid bubbling up from beneath the ground. They did not recognize it as crude oil and thought it was sulfur, hence they named it "Chuhuang Pit." Chuhuang Pit is the earliest and most significant oil mining area in Taiwan, geologically belonging to an anticline structure, with the central part being the highest and the two wings sloping outward. Oil and gas are trapped within the anticline structure, extracted through oil wells. The wings of the Chuhuang Pit anticline are composed of alternating layers of hard and soft sandstone and shale. The geological structure, strata, and paleobiology research in this area make it a typical location in Taiwan, essential for anyone studying geology. The China Petroleum Corporation has also marked the geological strata of the Haolong Creek Valley in the southern part of this town along the highway, making it a great place for field geological teaching. The mining site of Chuhuang Pit is brightly lit at night, a picturesque scene with farms on the left, also known as "the Night Hong Kong" for its beautiful view.
