Jialongya

The Old Gulou Hamlet is located on a steep slope, on the south-eastern side of Mount Wuwei in Laiyi Township, Pingtung County. It is at an altitude of about 1,150 meters. The traditional Paiwan name for the place is Kuljaljau, though it is also known as Kulun’ao and Jalongya.

During the Japanese occupation, the hamlet was the largest indigenous settlement. There were five close-knit tribes, among which Umaq was the first to be developed, and the others were derived from this. At the end of the Japanese occupation, as Old Gulou Hamlet centered on the Kunanau Police Post at that time, the Government-General in Taiwan encouraged the tribes to move to Taimali Township and Daren Township in Taitung County in order to divide the tribe.

In the early post-war period, the National Government also arranged a collective relocation of the hamlet to the current Gulou Hamlet.

Located in Laiyi Township, Pingtung County, there is a tombstone at the entrance of the old Gulou Hamlet, which is engraved with the words “Tomb of warriors who died in the battle”. It was the tragic death of those indigenous peoples who joined the Takasago Volunteer Team and fought in the Pacific War that occurred at the end of the Japanese Occupation period. The rectangular tomb covered with stone slabs is a joint burial site for these men. 

During the Second World War, Taiwan’s Government-General organized a group of young indigenous peoples to assist in the war in Nanyang. This organization, commonly known as the Takasago Volunteer Team, was dispatched several times. In 1942, the first batch of 500 Takasago volunteers came forward to serve the country. They went to the Philippines to fight, and later were even reorganized into the special task force.