Bunun

Danda Hamlet is located on the flat river terrace near the confluence of the Danda River on the east and west in Xinyi Township, Nantou County, about 1,250 meters above sea level.

It used to be the administrative center of the Bunun from the Danshe group during the Japanese occupation, and the Government-General in Taiwan once set up a police post and education center there. Later, many tribal people were infected with influenza, resulting in the death toll of up to 70 people.

Today, the  former site of Danda Hamlet can be reached by going down the afforestation road near the sixth checkpoint on Danda Forest Road, and passing by Tielusang Hamlet and the Danda Suspension Bridge. However, since the suspension bridge has not been maintained over the years, it is required to cross Danda River and re-connect to the path leading to Danda Hamlet. Currently there are still more than 10 slate houses in the ruins.

The Tielusang Hamlet is located on the slope opposite the confluence of east and west of Danda River in Xinyi Township, Nantou County. It is about 2,080 meters above sea level. It belongs to the Bunun Danshe group who migrated from Danda Hamlet.

If you want to go to Tielusang Hamlet, you can go down the afforestation road near the sixth checkpoint on Danda Forest Road. However, due to soil erosion and road damage from typhoons and earthquakes, the site is in poor condition. There are only two well preserved slate houses. In addition, continuing down from Tielusang Hamlet is the Guanmen Historic Trail, at an altitude of 1,280 meters.

Hahabi Hamlet is located on the north bank of Danda river, extending south above Tielusang Hamlet in Xinyi Township, Nantou County. It is about 1,460 meters above sea level and faces Danda Hamlet across the Danda River.

If you want to go to Hahabi, you can go down the afforestation road from the sixth checkpoint on Danda Forest Road leading to Danda Suspension Bridge. After reaching an altitude of about 1,280 meters, there is a fork to Guanmen Historic Trail. Walk west for about 20 minutes and you will reach the ruins of Hahabi Hamlet. There are about two well-preserved slate houses. Five steps below the tribal ruins is where the fort was erected by the Government-General in Taiwan during the Danda Incident in the Japanese Occupation period.

Jia-nian-duan Hamlet is located on the right bank of the lower reaches of Danda river, on the southern mountainside of Mount Jia-nian-duan in Xinyi Township, Nantou County. It is about 1,550 meters above sea level, and is a hamlet formed by the Bunun people of the Luan group who migrated here.

During the Japanese occupation, the Government-General in Taiwan set up a police post and an education center in Jia-nian-duan Hamlet. The formation of the building can still be clearly seen today, and there are three-tier terraces on the foundation platform. Jia-nian-duan Hamlet ruins can be reached from going down a path that is about 8 km away from the Danda Forest Road checkpoint.

Nowadays, there are around eight slate houses remaining that are relatively complete in shape but are covered with a forest of bamboo. 

Lafulang Hamlet in Xinyi Township, Nantou County, is located on the flat terrace at the lower reaches of Danda River. It is about 1,400 meters above sea level, and was a hamlet of the Bunun from the Kashe group that branched out from the Luanda hamlet during migration. This is also where the Guard Road joins the Guanmen Historic Trail, and the starting point of the Guard Road.

Today, Lafulang Hamlet can be reached by climbing up a small trail about 2.5 km from the third checkpoint of Danda Forest Road. Since Lafulang Hamlet is an easy-to-reach site, it has held many activities, such as “return to the ancestral land”, at the site. For this reason, slate houses were repaired and restored. House plates were hung in front of the house so that the descendants could identify their ancestor’s house.

Ka Hamlet, located in Xinyi Township, Nantou County, was the administrative center of the Bunun from the Kashe group. There are two theories about the origin of this place. It is said that it was the migration from Sheliao Village in Zhushan County, Taichung Prefecture.  The other saying is that it was the migration from Kategelan hamlet of Xingao group in Taichung Prefecture.

There are two routes to reach Ka hamlet. You can head north from Bakuras, walk along the road from Wanda to Bakuras to arrive in Wenwen hamlet, then follow the ridgeline and walk down the Kashe River. From there, continue crossing the river to get to the other side, and walk along the hunting road to reach it. Alternatively, climb from the checkpoint at Danda Forest Road to the east saddle of Mount Kashe, and then walk along the Guanmen Historic Trail.

Today, the Ka Hamlet ruins are widely spread out, and are covered with Makino bamboo.

Wenwen Hamlet is located on the west bank river terrace where the Kashe River and Zhuoshui River converge in Ren'ai Township, Nantou County. It was where the Bunun people from the Ka Hamlet migrated 220 years ago. However, influenza occurred during the Japanese occupation, which led to a dozen deaths in the hamlet.

Today, there are two routes that lead to Wenwen Hamlet. One is from Puli, where you head straight to the end of Dingdongpu, enter the Zhuoshe Forest Road, pass through the crossroads of Lianjiu hamlet to the end of the road, and then go down to the road that connects Wanda and Bakuras. After reaching Fenfenshan, head east and you will arrive at the site of Wenwen hamlet.

The other route is to go from the road northbound of Bakuras Hamlet. Today, there are still around ten slate houses on the site.

The Bakuras Hamlet in Dili Village, Xinyi Township, Nantou County, is about 550 meters above sea level. It was mainly formed by the relocation of the Bunun people from Wenwen Hamlet and Jiali Moan Hamlet of the Kashe group.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Government-General in Taiwan set up a police post and education center here, but under the implementation of the relocation policy, Bunun people moved to Dili, Shuanglong and Tannan successively in 1936.

Today, you can reach Bakuras hamlet from Dili Village along Provincial Highway 16. The site of the former police post is now the Bakuras Farm, where the owner has restored two slate houses from the ruins.

Tamarowan Hamlet is located on the river terrace on the north bank of the upper reaches of Zhuoshui River in Dili Village, Xinyi Township, Nantou County. Traditionally the Bunun named the place Tumazuan, also known as Damaluan.

In the early days of the Japanese occupation, this area was a forest. After the implementation of the relocation policy by the Government-General in Taiwan, the Bunun people from Shuanlong Hamlet of the Luanshe group and the Danda Hamlet, Tai-ersan Hamlet, Kanetwan Hamlet of the Danshe group successively moved here and formed a new Tamarowan Hamlet.

Today, you can reach Dili Village from the Provincial Highway 16 in Shuili Township, Nantou County, and the outpost is the gateway into the old Bunun hamlet sites and the Danda Forest Road.

The Batongguan Excavation Monument at the Nan'an Visitor Center of the Yushan National Park was originally set up in front of the Yuli Shrine when the completion ceremony of the eastern section of the Batongguan Traversing Historic Trail was held on January 22, 1921. However, in the post-war period, the monument was moved and left at the Zhengoushi Bridge due to the widening of the road. Finally it was found by Yang Nanjun, an expert on Taiwan ancient roads, in 1988 and was sent to the Nan'an Police Squad for safekeeping.

Today, the Batongguan Excavation Monument still contains specific details of the excavation project, such as date, mileage, funding, team members, employees, deaths and injuries.