Coconut Bunker Introduction
After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Japan conducted air raids against Taiwan's important military supply factories, power plants, railways, and key offices as part of the American retaliation. The Zhu Shan District Office was strategically located between the two mountains at the confluence of the Zhuoshui River, serving as an outpost for bombing along the Jiji railway and Sun Moon Lake reservoir. When the "air raid sirens" sounded, employees of the district office and the surrounding Japanese military and civilians rushed to seek refuge in the air raid shelters; the dense forest behind the district office provided additional cover from American aircraft. The current site of the air raid shelter has now lost its function and is abandoned, with six tall royal palm trees and phoenix trees growing on top, turning it into a dirt hole where children play hide and seek today. Next to the shelter, there remain old dormitories from the Japanese occupation period and the current police station's old quarters. The design of the entrance to the shelter was a pull door rather than a push door; this was because during normal times, the door opened outward, allowing everyone to rush in when the sirens sounded. It is uncertain how many people hid inside the shelters, and if they were overcrowded, suffocation could occur. The design allowed for the possibility of those inside being pushed out if the door was pulled, potentially giving them a chance to survive, as experiences suggested that deaths from suffocation could be more frequent than from bombings. Another explanation suggested that when bombs exploded outside the shelter, the resulting pressure could cause a pull door to help block the pressure and shrapnel from entering.
