Qianshan First City Stone Statue Introduction
Above the Jiujiu Steps stands the "Jingyi Pavilion," which features an inscription stating "Record of Jingyi Pavilion, Yunlin County," and a stone tablet that reads "First City of Qianshan," signifying that this county seat is the most important town on the western side of Taiwan. (The original stone tablet has been lost, and the current one is a replica.) It is located on a hillside near the intersection of Qianshan Road Section 1, where the Jiujiu Steps lie on the slope, alongside a large white stone inscribed with the words "Jiujiu Steps," with a smaller line below stating "Starting Point of the Batongguan Ancient Trail." The Batongguan Ancient Trail was constructed in the first year of the Guangxu era (1875) under the leadership of General Wu Guangliang, with around two thousand soldiers. At the time, it was called "Zhonglu," and it had two starting points: one at Jiujiu Steps and the other in the Shieliao area of the town, where the Long'en River is located. The two paths converged at Lugou, passing over Batongguan to cross the Central Mountain Range to Yuli in Hualien, spanning a total of 265 li (approximately 154 kilometers), completed in just eleven months, serving as a vital transportation link between Eastern and Western Taiwan. For over three hundred years, ancestors crossed the Qing Shui River from Linnei Township, directly following the riverbank to take the road up the mountain slope to Linqipu (now known as Zhushan). To make the slope easier to climb, the early settlers constructed ninety-nine steps here with stones, called the Jiujiu Steps. Later, another road was built, and this area fell into disrepair, leading to the complete destruction of the original Jiujiu Steps. The current Jiujiu Steps have been renovated by the Zhushan Township Office in conjunction with the National Arts Season, providing a path for residents to exercise and awakening a sense of nostalgia among the people of Zhushan. Climbing halfway up the Jiujiu Steps is exhausting, causing one to pant heavily and sweat profusely, reminding us of our ancestors who relied solely on their feet and had to carry burdens while ascending the Jiujiu slope, which truly is a difficult task.
