Houtong Shrine Introduction
The Houtong Shrine was established in the ninth year of the Shōwa era (1934) during Japanese rule, dedicated by five individuals led by Li Jianxing, the founder of the Ruizhan Mining Company, under the "Ruizhan Mining Co., Ltd. Public Corporation." During the Japanese colonial period, Houtong was the leading coal mining site in Taiwan for several consecutive years, serving as a significant hub for supporting industrial fuel in Taiwan, which led to an increase in the population. In the late Shōwa period, during World War II, the Japanese government promoted the assimilation policy and thus advanced the Kōminka movement, resulting in the establishment of Houtong Shrine. Walking along the "Houtong One Hundred Steps" path leading to the shrine, the rich Japanese atmosphere gives visitors the illusion of stepping into a different time and space. The torii gate clearly displays the characters for "dedication," revealing the passage of history.
