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Located on the western highlands of the outer Waan, the “West Puxing” fort was built during the Japanese occupation and remains to this day. According to the “Penghu Island Fortification Construction Guidelines” dated Taisho 9 (1920), a battery was originally planned at Waan Village to defend against potential naval attacks from the west and south sides of Maokong Port. The plan called for two 35‑centimeter caliber cannons in a turret format, equipped with 200 shells—one of the largest coastal defenses at the time. However, after construction began in 1921, the Washington Naval Treaty was signed in 1922 by the five major naval powers—America, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy—to curb arms races, prohibiting the addition of new fortifications and coastal works. Consequently, the Waan Village battery was forced to halt construction. In 1923, the Japanese Army Ministry ordered the Army's fortification department to build a mock battery on the original site and designated the surrounding area as a fortification zone, hoping that observers would mistake it for a pre‑treaty completed defense. Later, a real battery would replace the mock one. As air power rapidly advanced, fixed turrets became obsolete and vulnerable to air attack. Penghu’s coastal defenses subsequently shifted to mobile gun systems, so the mock battery was never replaced with a real one. During World War II it was not listed as a priority air‑strike target by the U.S. Army and Navy, and by chance it survived to the present day, becoming one of the symbols of Penghu’s wartime history.
Sources: Penghu Travel, *Modern History of Our Nation’s Fortifications*, Part 2, Volume 10, Penghu Island Fortification Construction History “Penghu Island Fortification Construction Guidelines (Taisho 9, August 19, Staff Headquarters)”, *Penghu County Government Cultural Bureau Quarterly* “Lao Gu Stone” Issue 93, “Decoy—Long‑Misunderstood Penghu Waan Decoy Gun, Five Virtues Decoy Gun” [Suggested Visit Duration] 0.5 hours