Tainan Mountain and Water Museum Introduction
Walking along City Road No. 178, one may easily miss the century-old monument - the Original Tainan Waterway, which is an important historical site witnessing the development of water conservancy in Greater Tainan. After retirement from its former glory, today, the Tainan Waterway has transformed into a historic atmosphere encapsulated in the Waterworks Museum. The Baroque-style buildings are well-preserved, featuring intact machinery components that are rare antiques, evoking a sense of nostalgia. The so-called waterway refers to the five facilities of the water pipeline, including intake facilities, sedimentation tanks, aeration chambers, pump rooms, and purification pools. Its historical value as a heritage site includes its architectural structures, Western-style reinforced concrete, red brick buildings, and stone-roofed buildings, along with well-preserved machinery sets, which include 14 British rapid filters and components, overhead cranes, and vertical electric motors. These machines are precious cultural heritage within Taiwan's waterworks industry. Visitors need to ascend 189 steps on the purification pool trail to reach the purification pool, which is a gray structure composed of natural stone and imitation stone blocks, solid as a fortress. On either side of the purification pool, there are water quality testing labs, topped with soil and vegetation, featuring 59 cast iron ventilation pipe columns. At the back of the purification well, a round emblem is placed on the central gable of the entrance, featuring a cement-carved "Nan Shui" (南水) motif, which serves as the emblem of the "Tainan Waterway," telling visitors about the glorious history that the Tainan Waterway once had. **About the Father of Taiwanese Waterways - Yashiro Hanyano** Yashiro Hanyano (1863–1932), known as the father of Taiwan's waterways, was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, and graduated from the Imperial University of Tokyo's Industrial Engineering Department. In 1896, Hanyano came to Taiwan as an assistant to the British William Broughton and served as an engineer in the Civil Engineering Department of the Governor-General's Office. During his 23 years in Taiwan, he participated in and completed significant waterway projects in Keelung, Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, and made substantial contributions to Taiwan's waterway development.
