Bunun

The Zhongzhiguan Police Post is located in the Taoyuan District of Kaohsiung City. It is an extremely important stop on the Guanshan Historic Trail because it overlooks Yusuishe from there, and monitors the then Bunun chief, Lahu·Ali, who lived opposite Zhongzhiguan, on the upper reaches of the Lunong River. Lahu·Ali, who has fought continuously against the Japanese for 20 years, once visited the Zhongzhiguan Police Post twice and came to a peaceful settlement there. In fact, the Zhongzhiguan Police Post had a huge establishment, and the police department with the highest rank was stationed here for a long time.

Today, the historic trail section between Tianchi and Zhongzhiguan is made into hiking trails by the Yushan National Park. There are also tourist rest stops and information boards at the ruins of the Zhongzhiguan Police Post.

Yusuishan (mountain) and Yusuishe (hamlet) are located in the Taoyuan District of Kaohsiung City. It is at an altitude of 3,045 meters. Left behind it are the Yushan peaks, and the large river bed at the foot of the mountain is the Laonong River Valley. The right side of the valley is the former Yusuishe, which was the last base of Lahu·Ali, a Bunun anti-Japanese hero. During the Japanese occupation, the Governor-General in Taiwan decided to expand the passage between hamlets located along Xinwulu River and the Laonong River in order to regulate the indigenous peoples. The Guanshan Historic Trail was completed in 1931.

Today, there is a 3.5-kilometer-long section of historic trail between Zhongzhiguan and Tianchi that is relatively intact and is called Zhongzhiguan Historic Trail.

Tianchi, located in the Taoyuan District of Kaohsiung City, is about 2,280 meters above sea level. It is a natural mountain lake formed by faults, collapses, soil and the accumulation of rocks, rain and snow. The lake not only provides water for travelers but is also an important sustaining resource for wildlife. To get there, climb up the stone steps from the back of the Changqing Temple at the 135 km point of the Southern Cross-island Highway. Alternatively, start from Zhongzhiguan parking lot and walk along the Zhongzhiguan Historic Trail. In recent years, religious people have burned paper money and held release ceremonies here, leaving behind creatures and wastes that do not belong here, which greatly affects water quality and ecology.

The Liyuan Police Station, located in Haiduan Township in Taitung County, was originally the Jiemaosi Police Post on the Guanshan Historic Trail during the Japanese occupation. The police station has a spacious  platform, which is now abandoned. Yet the steps and barriers that lead into the front yard are still complete. In the thatch on the hillside behind, there are still the cornerstones of the shrine remaining. There is also a small section of the historic trail there, which is wide and flat. But the trail after entering the orchard was destroyed by reclamation.

The traditional Bunun name of the place where the Liyuan Police Station is located is Haimosu. It was named after a tree that was overgrown in the area. In the post-war period, the National Government changed its name to Liyuan.

The Tianlong Suspension Bridge is located behind the Tianlong Hotel in Haiduan Township, Taitung County. It was built in the valley between Wulu and Lidao on the Wulu-Hari section of the Guanshan Historic Trail, which was built in the middle of the Japanese occupation period.  The mountains on both sides of the bank are steep and the suspension bridge hangs in the sky like a long dragon, hence the name Tianlong Suspension Bridge. 

However, in the early post-war period, the Tianlong Suspension Bridge was impassable due to years of neglect. It was not until the Southern Cross-island Highway was opened that the bridge was restored for the purpose of transporting people and supplies. The original section of the historic trail that leads directly to Lidao was made into the Tianlong Historic Trail, which connects the Tianlong Hotel and the Southern Cross-island Highway. It is also a shortcut from Wulu to Lidao.

The Wulu Fort is located on the hills behind Wulu Elementary School in Haiduan Township, Taitung County. There are two guns that were made in Russia in 1903. They were trophies after the Russo-Japanese War and were transported to Taiwan with the intention to suppress the indigenous peoples. In the middle of the Japanese occupation period, when the Government-General in Taiwan excavated the Xinwu to Wulu section of the Guanshan Historic Trail, a fort was erected here to intimidate the Bunun people. Especially after the Daguanshan Incident in 1932, the Japanese used the strategy of dropping bombs onto uncooperative tribes to suppress the originally fierceful opposing indigenes. In the post-war period, Hu Jinniang, the then mayor of Haiduan Township, retrieved the historic guns that were left abandoned in the warehouse of the Taitung County Police Station and relocated them to the rear of the elementary school.

Wulu Hamlet, located in Haiduan Township, Taitung County, was an important stronghold for migrating east from Nantou at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. It is regarded as the origin of Bunun’s traditional culture in the Haiduan area. The place was traditionally called Bulbul, which is said to be named after a locally grown plant called vulvul. Others say that the name came from the pulpul sound of the spring water emerging from the foot of the mountain. In the middle of the Japanese occupation, the Governor-General in Taiwan forced the Bunun people near the Wulu Terrace to collectively move here, which formed the present Wulu Hamlet. From the late Japanese occupation to the post-war period, many people in Haiduan Village and Kanding Village came from Wulu.

The Aisaka (Fengban) Anti-Japanese Monument is located between Xinwu and Chulai on the Southern Cross-island Highway, near the former site of Fengban Police Post in Haiduan Township, Taitung County. The monument was erected in memory of the Aisaka incident that occurred in the middle of the Japanese occupation period. The incident was caused by the Bunun people of the Bulakusan and Tokoban group attacking the Aisaka Police Post in 1933 and killing the Chief Inspector and his family members. After that, the Governor-General in Taiwan fired at Burakusan Hamlet, formed a search team to attack from Hualien, Taitung and Kaohsiung, and finally arrested the suspects. However, in order to take into account the overall situation, the Governor-General adopted a peaceful punishment and held an apologetic ceremony to accept the people’s submission. In the post-war period, the Haiduan Township Office built a simple monument to commemorate this anti-Japanese incident.

Mashuhor Police Post is located on the east side of Meishan Hamlet in Taoyuan District, Kaohsiung City. To get there, enter the industrial road next to the Meishan Youth Activity Center, then walk further for about 1 km. The former site of the Meishan Hamlet is located above the current hamlet. The traditional Bunun name is Masuhuaz, which means yellow rotang palm, because the area is rich in yellow rotang palm. In the post-war period in 1961, the National Government forced the tribes to collectively move here. The place was then renamed to Meishan because of the abundance of plum trees.

Today,  the original building of Mashuhor Police Post no longer exists. Only the foundation of the house, the stone wall, the reservoir, the entrance and exit steps remain but are covered by overgrown grass.

The stone steps in Bazaishan are located in Ruisui Township, Hualien County.

Bazaishan is the first mountain on the eastern section of the Guanmen Historic Trail. The entrance to the trail is in the Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area. Enter from the industrial road outside the Butterfly Valley, go through the old afforestation path to reach Nasida Hamlet, and the stone steps are on the road to the hamlet.

Due to the steepness, there are many stone steps along the way, especially on the road close to the forest triangle point, where the stone steps are very dense. Road closer to Nashida Hamlet is gentle and therefore, has less stone steps.