Fisherman Island Lighthouse Introduction
The Yu-Oh Island Lighthouse is located on a high point at the southwestern tip of Xiyu, in the Wai’an Village of Xiyu Township. Xiyu Island has a total area of 17.8380 square kilometers and an elevation of approximately 52 meters. It stands alongside the main island of Penghu and Baisha Island, being one of the three major islands in the Penghu archipelago. Yu-Oh Island refers to Xiyu, as it was first labeled as "Yu-Oh Island" in Portuguese on navigation charts by the Portuguese. Subsequently, the Dutch and Japanese military maps translated it as Yu-Oh Island; however, the ancestors have referred to it as "Xiyu" or "Xiyu Head" since ancient times. Throughout the Qing Dynasty and Japanese rule, it was consistently called Xiyu, as Xiyu is located to the west of the main island of Penghu. The seafarers from the mainland Fujian and Zhejiang coast used "Xiyu Head" as a navigational landmark while passing through Penghu. The lighthouse was initially built in 1778 as a seven-story stone tower, known as "Xiyu Tower Lighthouse," and was rebuilt in 1875 with a Western-style structure, renamed the "Yu-Oh Island Lighthouse," as it appears today. In recent years, it was registered as a historic site, and in response to community suggestions, it was officially renamed "Xiyu Lighthouse." The lighthouse stands on a granite base with a diameter of approximately 2.5 meters at the bottom, and the tower body slightly recedes as it ascends, with a height ratio of approximately 1:2 between the tower top and the tower body. Inside the tower, there is a spiral iron staircase leading to an arched cast-iron lamp cover and a weather vane. At a height of 6.3 meters above the ground, an iron railing encloses a cast-iron working platform. The tower stands at 11 meters tall, with the light at a height of 60.7 meters. Next to the lighthouse is a Western-style building, constructed with stone blocks, and divided into two levels. The roof features a low-slope four-sided design, with the eaves protruding over the small entrance vestibule. The window shutters are in a French style, showcasing a strong European architectural influence. The Yu-Oh Island Lighthouse is equipped with a foghorn and three cast-iron fog cannons established during the mid-Qing Dynasty, along with a stone gourd smoke stack used in earlier operations. From the lighthouse park, visitors can overlook the sea and may have the opportunity to observe the famous Xiyu current, known as "Xi Flow." Among the six major currents in Penghu—Yichao, Erhou, San Xiliu, Si'ao, Wutai Men, and Liu Dongji—the "Xi Flow" is situated in the southern waters beneath the "Xiyu Lighthouse" at Wai'an. During the ebbing tide, approximately 40 minutes before the tide begins (commonly known as the backflow), a series of lunar crescent waves appear on the sea, extending around 100 to 200 meters, lasting for 4 to 5 hours, stopping only about 2 hours before high tide. This phenomenon becomes an extraordinary spectacle during the autumn neap tides. In the MTV for Chen Sheng's song "The Boy in the Tower," the white-shaped Yu-Oh Island Lighthouse serves as a symbol of the boy's lonely memories, silently standing guard over the girl, while youth gradually fades with the passage of time. Looking back, those fragments deep in memory are like the lyrics "just a few autumns," standing firm against the sea breeze and lighthouse, lonely yet resolute in life's brilliance. When visiting Penghu, don't miss the opportunity to spend a brief moment with the lighthouse and reflect on whether there have been people in your life that you wished to cherish but can only keep hidden in your memories.
Yuongong Island Lighthouse
Lighthouse of Yu-Weng Island
