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During the Qing Dynasty, many Hakka immigrants successively came to settle and cultivate the Wandai area of Pingtung. As the immigrant population grew, the scope of land reclamation expanded, and Wugou Village was formed. Wugou is a Hakka settlement where century-old relics are still preserved—such as the Liu Ancestral Hall, the Jinshi Mansion, the Wu Family Compound, the Crescent Pond, the Guanhai Study, the Zhongyong Shrine, the Zhong Family Old House, the Yingquan Zen Temple, and the Nanzhai Bogong—together creating a heritage district for the Wugou settlement, with the Liu Ancestral Hall being the most famous. The Liu Ancestral Hall is the best-preserved Hakka courtyard complex in southern Taiwan. Throughout the hall, admonitions encouraging descendants to be humble, dutiful, studious, and virtuous can be seen everywhere, such as: “Conduct yourself with modesty and courtesy; at home let filial piety and fraternal duty be complete.” “Forbearance is the gate to accumulating virtue; goodness is the heirloom of the family.” “First-rank men are loyal ministers and filial sons; the two great affairs are study and farming.” These inscriptions reveal how highly the Liu clan valued learning and self-cultivation, laying the foundation for the family’s prosperity. The Liu ancestors were Hakka people from Balunche, Zhaofu Township, Zhenping County, Jiaying Prefecture, Guangdong Province. Research shows they are direct descendants of Liu Bang, founder of the Han Dynasty. Beginning in 1780 (the 45th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign), Liu descendants crossed the sea to open up Wugoushui, and in 1864 (the 3rd year of Emperor Tongzhi’s reign) they built the Liu Ancestral Hall. Initially the hall consisted only of the left and right side wings. Later additions included the outer side wings “Chongguang Tower” and “Rangli Pavilion,” a garden, Baroque-style enclosing walls, and a pair of pavilions. Whether in structure, materials, or scale, the buildings demonstrate the power and status the Liu family then enjoyed. Beams, doors, stone pillars, incense burners, and Jiaozhi pottery were all brought from the Minnan region of mainland China. The gateway and roof ridges are finished with swallowtail designs: the front gate’s swallowtails rise in elegant curves, their spines decorated with cut-paste floral mosaics, while the main hall’s swallowtails are simpler, their spines pierced with ornamental hollow bricks. Swallowtail roofs symbolize success in the imperial examinations and high official rank. The hall faces east with its back to the west. Around the gateway, outer courtyard, and twin pavilions, dense flowering trees are planted. A pair of washed-granite lions crouch at the entrance; in front of the wall a small river flows eastward, symbolizing endless generations and abundant wealth for the Liu descendants. The whole setting is graceful and serene. From the layout of the Liu Ancestral Hall one can see the early Hakka people’s profound respect for their ancestors and their careful attention to geomantic principles.