Dongtai Isle, Xiyu Introduction
After the conclusion of the Qing-French War in 1885, Governor Yang Changjun of Fujian and Zhejiang, along with Taiwan Governor Liu Mingchuan, personally inspected Penghu and proposed that "the island of Penghu is isolated and dangerous, serving as the gateway to Fujian and Taiwan. It is necessary to build strong forts, purchase powerful cannons, and station a strong army to adequately defend it." They repeatedly requested to strengthen the maritime defense of Penghu and suggested building a city at Magong. The Qing court adopted this proposal and appointed Wu Hongluo as the first general of Penghu. Upon his arrival in Penghu, Wu was ordered to construct Magong City and built four new Armstrong-style coastal artillery fortifications: Beichung Fort, Jinguaitou Fort, Xiyu Dongtai, and Xiyu Xitai. In the 21st year of the Guangxu era (1895), during the Battle of Penghu between Qing forces and Japanese troops, the Japanese land forces landed at Longmenli on the eastern side of the main island and advanced westward towards Magong City, with documented combat records between the garrison at Xiyu Dongtai and the Japanese army. In World War II, due to the U.S. military's island-hopping strategy after capturing the Philippines, they bypassed Taiwan and Penghu to directly attack Okinawa, thus the coastal artillery fortifications on Penghu Island did not engage in direct combat with U.S. naval ships and were preserved without being destroyed. Xiyu Dongtai was designated a national historic site by the Ministry of the Interior on November 23, 1991. Source: National Cultural Heritage Database【Recommended stay duration】 2 hours.

