Qianshan First City Stone Sculpture Introduction
At the top of Jiujiuqian, there is the "Jingyi Pavilion," which has the inscription "Yunlin County Jingyi Pavilion Record." A stone tablet stands there, engraved with the words "The First City in Front Mountain," indicating that this county seat is the most important town on the west side of Taiwan. (The original stone tablet has disappeared, and the current one is a replica.) Located near the intersection of Section 1 of Qianshan Road, there lies the Jiujiuqian stone steps on the hillside, with a large off-white stone inscribed with the words "Jiujiuqian." Below it, there is a smaller inscription that reads "Starting Point of the Batongguan Ancient Trail." The Batongguan Ancient Trail was built in the first year of the Guangxu era of the Qing Dynasty (1875) by General Wu Guangliang, who led about two thousand soldiers. It was originally called "Zhonglu," with two starting points: one at Jiujiuqian and the other in the area around Shéliao, Long'en Canal in the town. The two roads converge in Lugou and cross over Batongguan to traverse the Central Mountain Range to Yuli in Hualien. The total length of the trail is 265 miles (approximately 154 kilometers) and was completed in just eleven months, serving as a crucial transportation artery between the east and west of Taiwan. For over three hundred years, ancestors from Linnei Township crossed the Qingshui River, directly reaching here by the riverside, using Qianshan Road to climb up the hillside to Linqipu (now known as Zhushan). To make the hillside easier to climb, the ancestors built ninety-nine steps from stones, called Jiujiuqian. Later, as roads were developed, this area fell into disrepair, and the original Jiujiuqian stone steps were destroyed. The current stone steps of Jiujiuqian were renovated by the Zhushan Township Office in conjunction with the National Arts Season, providing not only a route for the townspeople to climb and exercise but also evoking a sense of nostalgia among the people of Zhushan. Climbing halfway up the Jiujiuqian stone steps is enough to leave one breathless and drenched in sweat, recalling the hardships of the ancestors who relied solely on their feet while carrying burdens or luggage up the slope of Jiujiuqian; it truly is a challenging task.
