Fengshan Old City Introduction
The Old City of Fengshan County, founded during the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, is located in what is now Zuoying District. It was the first county seat of Fengshan County after the Qing government began ruling Taiwan and is also the first earthen city wall in Taiwan. During the Qianlong period, the Lin Shuangwen Incident caused the Old City to fall, and political and economic power shifted to Xiapitou Street (now Fengshan District), leading to the establishment of the New City of Fengshan. However, due to frequent banditry, the New City was hard to defend. In the Daoguang period (1862), local officials and citizens gathered to rebuild Taiwan’s first solid stone fortification at the original site of the Old City, which is now the Old City of Fengshan County in Zuoying. Over the years, the Old City of Fengshan has witnessed Japanese rule, the relocation of the Nationalist government to Taiwan, and urban development, leaving only the East Gate, South Gate, North Gate, and some remnants of the city wall, which have been designated as a national historic site. The walls of the Old City of Fengshan are constructed from the Laogustone of Chai Mountain, filled with a mixture of three-in-one soil, and arched with granite from the mainland. The existing North Gate (Quncheng Gate) is located at the intersection of Shengli Road, Yimin Alley, and Piazitou Street. The structure of the city gate remains intact, and the extending walls on both sides stretch over a hundred meters, with a hexagonal stone structure. On both sides of the gate are intricate reliefs of Shentu and Yulei, making it unique. The West Gate (Dianhai Gate) is located within the Zuoying Zizhu New Neighborhood, where only a section of the city wall remains, about a hundred meters. The gate plaque "West Gate" is currently displayed in the residence of the British Consul at Takao. The East Gate, also known as Fengyimen, is largely intact, with over five hundred meters of the city wall remaining. It connects on the right to Yongqing Elementary School and on the left to Haiguang New Neighborhood. There are a total of nine crenellations along the top of the wall, along with a sloped path divided into seven tiers. The South Gate is located at the intersection of Zuoying Road and Gushan Road, with its gate plaque inscribed "Qiwenmen" that remains as pristine as ever. Reflecting on the past, the Old City of Fengshan in Zuoying has endured many changes, quietly watching over and narrating the pioneering history of the ancestors in Taiwan over three hundred years amid the prosperous scenery of the New Zuoying commercial district.
