Wuliao Battery Introduction
Following the winding National Highway 20, we arrive at the Wulu Tribe, and following the signs along the small path leads us to the Wulu Battery hidden deep in the mountains. Two ancient cannons that have stood for over a century sit at a high point, from where one can overlook the vast Wulu Tribe, the Wulu Gorge, and the distant undulating Central Mountain Range. The excellent view and the weathered cannon barrels witness a painful chapter of the anti-Japanese history. During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese sought to concentrate the management of the dispersed Bunun tribes in the mountains, forcibly managing and confiscating firearms and ammunition, which led to intense conflicts, with the Wulu anti-Japanese incident being the most representative. In 1927, the Japanese opened the ancient trail from Xinwu to Wulu, transporting Russian cannons captured during the Russo-Japanese War, and built the Wulu Battery at a high point to suppress the resisting Bunun people. At that time, batteries were also established in nearby Saku (Dalan) and Matiengul (Motian). After World War II, with Japan's unconditional surrender, the other two batteries no longer exist, and only these two century-old cannons remain behind Wulu Elementary School, accompanying the beautiful scenery and silently narrating the Bunun people's anti-Japanese historic struggle to defend their homeland.
