Sich Harbour Stone Tablet Park Introduction
Shihpai Park, known as "Monkey Cave Mountain" during the Qing Dynasty, was originally a habitat for monkeys. During the Japanese colonial period, it was renamed "Hengchun Park." Early on, Monkey Cave Mountain was often used by indigenous people for worshipping deities and ancestors, leading Han Chinese in the Qing Dynasty to refer to the place as "Xiang Mountain." It is said that Monkey Cave Mountain is the source of the dragon vein when the city of Hengchun was established, with favorable geographical feng shui. During the Qing Dynasty, the Chengxin Pavilion (later renamed the Confucius Temple) and the Listening to Rain Villa were built at the mountain's peak, attracting many literati and scholars to gather there. Nearby temples such as Guangning Temple, Tianhou Temple, Longquan Rock, and Fude Temple gradually established the area as a cultural and religious center. The most distinctive feature of Monkey Cave Mountain is the uniquely shaped coral reef rocks found within the mountainous area, making it the only urban coral reef park in Taiwan, and it was listed as one of the Eight Sceneries of Hengchun during the Qing rule. At the entrance of Shihpai Park, visitors first encounter four stone monuments from the Japanese colonial period, including the Loyalty Monument, Weapon Maintenance Commemoration Monument, the Monument of Japanese Forces Capturing Hengchun City, and the Boundary Marker of Japanese Rule at the southernmost point of Taiwan, documenting a fragment of the history of Japanese governance in Hengchun. The park also features pavilions, viewing platforms, and mountain climbing paths, with enhanced greenery. Visitors can enjoy the unique scenery of the coral reef rocks as well as the street views of Hengchun Township, making it a natural, simple, leisurely, and relaxing recreational environment. In the Hengchun Old Town Revitalization Project promoted by the Pingtung County Government, Shihpai Park will be transformed into a natural performance venue. This project aims to integrate Monkey Cave Mountain Park with nearby old houses, renovating the existing trails within the park and adding wooden platforms, public art pieces at the entrance, a styled rooftop performance stage, and terraced grassy viewing stands, turning the area into a cultural performance center for Hengchun Old Town.
