Abandoned Mine Site Introduction
Located in Gongguan Mining Village, it is the birthplace of petroleum 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 "Chuhuangkeng No. 1 Well," approximately eighty meters to the front right of the main entrance of Chuhuangkeng. This was the first well drilled by the Japanese. Due to the rich oil sources in Chuhuangkeng, the Japanese drilled a total of 99 wells. The name Chuhuangkeng comes from the locals discovering a sulfur-colored liquid bubbling up from underground. Not knowing it was "crude oil," they assumed it was sulfur, hence the name "Chuhuangkeng." Chuhuangkeng is the earliest and most important site for oil mining in Taiwan, geologically belonging to an anticline structure, with the central part being the highest and both wings sloping outward, where oil and gas are trapped within the anticline structure and extracted through oil wells. The two wings of the Chuhuangkeng anticline structure are composed of alternating layers of soft and hard sandstone and shale. The geological structure, stratigraphy, and paleontological studies in this area make it a typical region in Taiwan, essential for those studying geology. The China National Petroleum Corporation has also marked the geological strata of the southern Hau-long River Valley along the highway, making it an excellent site for field geological education. The mining area of Chuhuangkeng is brightly lit at night, with its landscapes being incredibly beautiful, earning the nickname "Little Hong Kong at Night."
