Taipei Prison Wall Ruins Introduction
The city-designated historical site "Taipei Prison Wall Ruins" is located beside the telecommunications bureau on Jinshan South Road in Daan District. It was initially built during the Japanese colonial period, around the 1910s, when anti-Japanese uprisings occurred across Taiwan. The Japanese rulers constructed large-scale prisons in Taipei and Tainan, and Taipei Prison stands as a concrete testament to Taiwan's modern prison history. Today, the remnants consist of a few high walls on the north and south sides, yet they still evoke a heavy and oppressive atmosphere. The layout of Taipei Prison is radial, reflecting the trend of 19th-century prisons worldwide. It is surrounded by high walls made primarily of stone sourced from the dismantled Taipei City Wall in the 1910s, mainly consisting of andesite and keeling rock. These materials were initially brought from quarries near Dazhi and Neihu during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, transported from the mountains to the Keelung River, and then shipped via the Tamsui River to the Hekou Wharf. Its historical significance is recognized as deeply valuable today.
