Waian Fisherman's Trap Introduction
Located at "Xipu Ding" on the western highlands of Wai'an, it was built during the Japanese occupation period and has been preserved to this day. According to the "Penghu Island Fortress Construction Guidelines" from the 9th year of Taisho (1920), a gun battery was originally planned to be established at Wai'an Village to fend off potential naval invasions from the western and southern seas near Magong Port. The plan included the installation of two 35 cm caliber cannons in a turret form with an allocation of 200 rounds of ammunition, making it a large coastal defense artillery at the time. However, after the construction began in 1921, it coincided with the signing of the "Washington Naval Treaty" in 1922 by the five major naval powers (the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, France, and Italy) which restricted the addition of new fortifications and coastal defense works. This caused the Wai'an Village battery to be forced to halt construction. Nevertheless, in 1923, the Japanese Army's Ministry of War ordered the Army Fortification Department to build a fake turret at the original site and designated the surrounding area as a fortress zone, attempting to mislead the public into believing that this was a completed defense structure prior to the treaty's restrictions, planning to later replace the fake turret with a real one at an opportune moment. However, with the rapid development of aerial combat capabilities in various countries, the fixed turrets, which were vulnerable to airstrikes, became an outdated design. The subsequent coastal artillery on Penghu Island was transitioned to multiple mobile artillery pieces. As a result, the fake turret here has never been "realized," and during World War II, it was not prioritized for airstrikes by the American army and navy, leading to its accidental preservation to this day, becoming a symbol of Penghu's battle history. Sources: Penghu Travel, Modern History of Castle Construction in Japan, Volume 2, Chapter 10, "Penghu Island Fortress Construction Guidelines (August 19, 1920, General Staff Headquarters)," Penghu County Government Cultural Bureau Quarterly "Lao Gu Stone" Issue 93, "Decoy -- The Misunderstood Wai'an Decoy Gun and Wude Decoy Gun in Penghu." [Recommended Stay Duration] 0.5 hours.
Viewing platform overlooking Wai'an bait cannon
