Hutou Mountain Trail Introduction
Hutoushan is located northwest of Ruisui and is a prominent ridge extending eastward from Danda Mountain, with an elevation of 1,747 meters. At the summit, there is a massive rock that resembles a tiger perched atop a mountain, hence the name. There is an industrial road leading to the peak, offering a broad view of the vast landscape between the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range. Hutoushan is situated at the southernmost end of the Coastal Mountain Range, surrounded by rock layers of the Liji Group, making it an exotic block of rock trapped within the Liji mixed formation, composed of diorite. In recent years, due to the significant decline in hunting activity in the area, the narrow pathways in the mountains have become completely overgrown, greatly increasing the difficulty of reaching the summit. According to the older locals in Ruisui, during the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese feared that the mountain tiger of Hutoushan would cause trouble (due to its favorable geomantic energy), and thus specifically used thick iron chains to bind the neck of the tiger to suppress its spirit and prevent mischief. After verification by mountain climbers, it is currently known that two peaks are bound by chains: the Greater Hutoushan (with an elevation of 1,745 meters) and the Lesser Hutoushan (Jiangbufan Mountain, with an elevation of over 600 meters).
