Tiger Well Stele Introduction
Located at the wind gap between Taipei and Yilan County along the Caoling Historic Trail, the Tiger Stele stands at an altitude of about 330 meters. The stele was erected by Liu Ming-deng, the Governor-General of Taiwan. Due to the strong winds that have plagued travelers over the years, the character "Tiger" was inscribed here to signify "the clouds come from the dragon, the wind comes from the tiger," in order to ward off wind damage. The ancestors erected the stele to subdue evil spirits and also to remind travelers that strong winds are common in this area, urging them to exercise caution. The Caoling Historic Trail was gradually opened by the Pingpu people in ancient times to facilitate communication between the plains on both sides of the Xueshan tail ridge. During the Qing Dynasty, there was a group of Pingpu tribes collectively known as the Sandiao Society near the coastline extending east from Aodi in present-day Gongliao District, New Taipei City, with a population of around 500 as late as 1917. In earlier times, they lived along the coast, particularly near river estuaries, relying on fishing for their livelihood, and descendants of the Pingpu people still reside in this area today.
