aeeble

The Hengchun Ancient City was constructed in the first year of the Guangxu era during the Qing Dynasty and completed in the fifth year of the Guangxu era. Located in the center of the Hengchun Plain, the city is surrounded by the San Taishan, Hu Tou Mountain, Long Luan Mountain, and Xi Ping Mountain ranges. The renowned official Liu Ao, who was an expert in geomancy (traditional Chinese feng shui), was invited to determine the city's layout. The dragon vein was selected as the Houdong Mountain, with four gates constructed in the east, west, south, and north respectively. Each gate has an artillery platform, and the city's walls are encircled by a moat. It is a rare, well-preserved example of ancient city gates in Taiwan. With a century-long history, Hengchun Ancient City is an important national heritage site in Taiwan. What makes its gate structures particularly intriguing? Across various cities, many ancient city ruins remain, consisting of basic components such as city walls, gates, artillery platforms, gate towers, moats, slow paths, horse paths, and more. The description here focuses on the eastern gate of Hengchun Ancient City: **City Wall**: The wall is built using a hardened mixture of "rice paste, sugar cane syrup, and lime mortar," employing the ancient architectural technique of "rammed earth with formwork." Today, the city wall's surface exhibits horizontal lines left over as traces from its construction. **City Gate**: Hengchun has four city gates, each composed of a gate platform with an upper "gate tower" and a lower "gate arch." The upper half of the gate plat form is constructed with brick masonry, whereas the lower half consists of gravel packed with mortar. The base is paved with granite. **Gate Lintel**: The sizes of the four gate lintels differ, fabricated from basalt as building material and each adorned with a decorative frame. **Artillery Platform**: This is the protruding portion of the city wall, where cannons could be placed. There are four cannons on the artillery platform, with two pointing forward and two angled at 45 degrees to the sides. Granite is used as the primary material to withstand the cannon's recoil force. **Moat (City壕)**: Serving as a protective river surrounding the city, the moat was constructed for defensive purposes and to provide material for building the city walls. Currently, the moats are either filled in or repurposed as drainage channels. **Crenellations (雉堞)**: These are the "parapet walls" along the city wall, with protruding sections designed for added aesthetics and defensive function. Each has a central small hole to allow soldiers to fire from concealed positions, providing an advantage during both attack and defense. **Slow Path (慢道)**: Also known as the "stepping path," it serves as a convenient ramp for accessing the city walls. **Horse Path (馬道)**: A walkway on city walls used for patrolling and guarding purposes. **Curbing Wall (女牆)**: Located on the outer city wall, these serve a function similar to that of a balustrade.