Hengchun Shihpai Park Introduction
Shihpai Park was known as "Monkey Cave Mountain" during the Qing Dynasty because it was originally a habitat for monkeys. During the Japanese colonial period, it was renamed "Hengchun Park." Due to its early use by indigenous people for worshipping gods and ancestors, Han people in the Qing Dynasty also referred to it as "Xiang Mountain." According to legend, Monkey Cave Mountain is the geographic dragon vein where Hengchun was built, and it has exceptionally good feng shui. In the Qing Dynasty, a Changxing Pavilion (later converted to a Confucian Temple) and a Listening Rain Pavilion were built on the mountain's peak, attracting many scholars and literati to gather there. Moreover, with the nearby Guangning Temple, Mazu Temple, Longquan Rock, and the Earth God Temple, the area gradually became a cultural and religious center at that time. One of the most notable features of Monkey Cave Mountain is the oddly shaped coral reef stones in the mountain area, making it the only urban coral reef park in Taiwan, and it was listed as one of Hengchun's Eight Scenic Spots during the Qing Dynasty. At the entrance of Shihpai Park, visitors first encounter four stone monuments, which were left over from the Japanese colonial era, including the Loyalty Monument, the Weapons Maintenance Commemorative Monument, the Monument of the Japanese Army's Capture of Hengchun City, and the Borderstone of Japan's Southernmost Territory in Taiwan, which record fragments of Japan's rule over Hengchun. The park also has pavilions, observation decks, hiking trails, and enhanced greenery, allowing visitors not only to admire the unique scenery of the coral reef rocks but also to overlook the street views of Hengchun town, making it a natural, simple, leisurely, and spontaneous recreational environment. In the "Hengchun Ancient City Regeneration Project" promoted by the Pingtung County Government, Shihpai Park will be transformed into a natural performance venue. This project mainly integrates Monkey Cave Mountain Park with nearby old houses, refurbishing the original trails in the park, and adding wooden platforms, public art pieces representing the entrance, a stylized roof performance stage, and tiered grass slope viewing stands, shaping it into the cultural performance center of Hengchun Ancient City.
