West Islet Ammunition Depot Introduction
We often use the phrase "copper walls and iron walls" to describe the sturdiness of a house, but the Xiyu Ammunition Depot is genuinely a prime example of "copper walls and iron walls"! The Xiyu Ammunition Depot includes a subterranean cool ammunition storage facility and the cave-type ammunition depot, famously known as "copper walls and iron walls." It is a rare military structure from the early Japanese colonial period and is one of the four main ammunition depots of the Japanese military on Penghu Island. As the name implies, the Xiyu Ammunition Depot mainly serves to store artillery ammunition. The cave-type ammunition depot has both single-cave and double-cave dry storage facilities, storing both smokeless and smokeless powders separately. The cave depot features a double-wall vaulted structure; a semicircular cave is excavated from the rock mass inside the mountain, with an external structure built from stacked concrete blocks, and the inner storage space constructed with reinforced concrete. To store smokeless powder, it requires constant temperature and humidity, and the walls are lined with copper plates to effectively isolate electromagnetic pulses and moisture. As for the subterranean cool ammunition storage facility, it is an above-ground building with exterior walls made of stacked stone and interior walls constructed from wooden panels and elevated wooden flooring for moisture prevention. The roof is supported by a steel truss and covered with cultural tiles, also known as blackened tiles, with lightning rods installed on the roof for protection against lightning strikes. These two types of ammunition depots are rare military constructions from the early Japanese colonial period in Taiwan, showcasing the characteristics of construction technology from that era, and thus they have been designated as county-level historic sites for restoration and preservation.
