Jinshui Camp Ancient Trail (Fangliao Section) Introduction
The Jinshuiying Ancient Trail starts from Shuishiliao in Fangliao Township, Pingtung County, and extends eastward to Dawu in Taitung County after crossing the ridgeline of the Central Mountain Range, with a total length of 47 kilometers and a maximum elevation of 1,300 meters. Along the trail, there are three major protected areas: the Jinshuiying Broadleaf Forest Protected Area, the Dawu Taiwan Hemlock Natural Preserve, and the Dawu Taiwan Cypress Natural Reserve, which have significant botanical geographic content and research value, making it very suitable for ecological and in-depth trips. During the Daoguang period, the plains indigenous tribes in western Taiwan utilized this route to collectively migrate to the hinterlands of eastern Bunan (Taitung). By the eighth year of Guangxu (1882), it was reopened and repaired as a road for developing the mountains and pacifying indigenous peoples, originally named "San Tiaolun Road." During the Japanese colonial period, it was modified by the Japanese into a security road that connected Fangliao in western Pingtung with Dawu in eastern Taiwan, and was renamed "Jinshuiying Overland Trail." The remaining cultural heritage sites along the Jinshuiying Ancient Trail include the "Guazilun Old Society," "Chushui Slope Site," "Jinshuiying Qing Dynasty Barracks Site," and "Jinshuiying Japanese Police Station," all of which are valuable historic sites. Notably, Hu Shi's father, Hu Tiehua, served as the Taitung magistrate during the eighteenth year of Guangxu and used this ancient trail to travel to Taitung for his duties. For centuries, the Jinshuiying Ancient Trail experienced usage by the Dutch, Japanese, and the Republic of China eras, becoming the most convenient overland route for the Dutch, Bunan tribe, Paiwan tribe, plains indigenous tribes, Han Chinese, and Japanese, greatly facilitating activities such as patrols, missionary work, trade, migration, postal services, hiking, and academic research. It is the longest-used, most representative, and most frequented trail in Taiwan's history.
