Wai'an Fishing Gear Introduction
Located in the western highlands of Wai'an at "Xipuding," it was built during the Japanese colonial period and has been preserved to this day. According to the "Penghu Island Fortress Construction Guidelines" from the 9th year of the Taisho era (1920), it was originally planned to establish a fortress at Wai'an to repel possible naval invasions from the west and south of Magong Harbor. The plan included the installation of two 35 cm caliber cannons in a turret format, equipped with 200 rounds of ammunition, which were considered large coastal defense guns at that time. However, after construction began in 1921, the signing of the "Washington Naval Treaty" in 1922 by the five major naval powers (the United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy) restricted the expansion of fortifications and coastal defenses. As a result, the Wai'an Fortress was forced to halt construction. However, in 1923, the Japanese Ministry of the Army ordered the Army Fortress Building Department to construct a fake turret at the original site and designated the surrounding area as a fortress zone, attempting to mislead outsiders into believing that defensive structures had already been completed before the treaty restrictions. Later, they aimed to replace the fake turret with a real cannon when the opportunity arose. However, with the rapid development of airborne capabilities, the fixed turrets became outdated designs and the subsequent coastal artillery in Penghu was shifted to multiple mobile guns. Therefore, the fake turret here has never "materialized" into a real one, and during World War II, it was not prioritized for air strikes by the U.S. Army and Navy, inadvertently preserving it to this day as one of the symbols witnessing the military history of Penghu. Sources: Penghu Travel, Modern History of Fortification in Japan, Part Two, Volume Ten, "Penghu Island Fortress Construction Guidelines" (August 19, 1920, General Staff Headquarters), Penghu County Government Cultural Bureau Quarterly "Lao Gu Shi" Issue 93, "Fake Bait - The Misunderstood Wai'an Fortress and Wude Fortress in Penghu" 【Recommended Stay Time】 0.5 hours
Overlook Platform overlooking Wai'an Erbao
