Tsou1111

The Tsatsaya Hamlet is located in Shanmei village, Alishan Township in Chiayi County. It is located below the junction of Alishan Highway and Shanmei Industrial Road. It was a small community of the bigger Dabang group of the Tsou tribe. The traditional name is Tsatsaya, but was called “Laitoushe” by the Han people at that time, because the hamlet is located near Laitou (Longmei) of Fanlu Township. Today, the hamlet is known by Zhizhiya, which is the transliterated name of Tsatsaya.  In the early days of Japanese occupation, the Tsatsaya hamlet had six households with 52 people, and in the early post-war period, there were nine households with 48 people. Also, since they were located near the Alishan Forest Railway,  they had earlier contacts with the outside world.

Gongtian Village, located in Fanlu Township, Chiayi County, is bounded by Zhuqi Township and Alishan Township from the north to the east. People of the Liu family named this place Gongtian (literally means public field) because this piece of land was jointly cultivated. Gongtian then gradually became a regional general term. During the Japanese occupation, this place belonged to Gongtian Dazi and a police post was set up. In the post-war period, the administrative area was re-structured. The main settlement remained to be Gongtian and thus, the old administrative area name, Gongtian Village, was used.

Chukou Village of Fanlu Township, Chiayi County, was the last flatland settlement to be established in the Alishan area. It is located at the valley entrance where the Bazhang River flows from the mountains to the flat land. There are two bridges, Tianchang and Dijiu, on the upstream and downstream of the river respectively. This is also where the Chukou fault is located. The Bazhang River that sits in between two mountain walls forms a cliff with a huge drop. It is as steep as two bulls fighting head-to-head, hence the name.

At the end of the Qing period, this place was developed into Chukou Street, which was a trading hub for mountain products. In the early days of the Japanese occupation, there was a railway for transporting goods leading to Chiayi South Gate via Dingzhongxia Street (Dingliu). At that time, there were 36 households and 134 people in Chukou village. At the end of the Japanese occupation period, there were only 18 households left.

The Wailaiji Hamlet is located on a terrace where the Tashan River merges into the mainstream in Laiji Hamlet in Alishan Township, Chiayi County. It is about 1 km north of the Neilaiji Hamlet and the traditional name is Bon, which means outside pump. During the Qing period, Wailaiji Hamlet was a new community of the Liuliuzi clang, and because it was located in the north of the old site, it was named Wailaiji (Outer Laiji).  In the early days of Japanese Occupation, the Government-General in Taiwan built a police post and an education center indigenous children because this area had relatively large flat land.

Neilaiji Hamlet is located in the alluvial land on the right bank of the Alishan River, in Laiji Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County. The traditional name is Bnguu or Pnguu, which means low basin. It is also known as the old Laiji Hamlet. During the Qing period, the people of Neilaiji Hamlet moved from Tfuya to Lalauya and lived there for about 20 years. Then they crossed the Shitzulu and temporarily settled in traditional territories such as Chumana, Meongo, and Fnafnau. Finally, they moved to the current Neilaiji during the Japanese occupation. Relevant documents from the Governor-General in Taiwan noted that the migration road between Shitzulu and Laiji Hamlets was repaired in the middle of the Japanese occupation.

Located in Alishan Township, Chiayi County, Lalauya (or Leyeh) Hamet is located about 2 km away from Shizhao Section of Alishan Highway. It is a small community derived from Tfuya village. Due to the ravages and natural disasters in the past, the tribes moved here. The name Leyeh is the transliteration of the traditional Tsou name, Lalauya.

In the early days of the Japanese Occupation, the tribe had 5 households with 70 people. In the early post-war period, the number increased to 26 households with 111 people. With the opening of the Alishan Highway that connected the county roads and township roads, it made traveling more convenient for the Tsou people. Especially since 2003, the Alishan township office, household registration office and police station have all moved to nearby areas. Lalauya has become the administrative center of the whole township.

Shitzulu (Laiji Trail) is located between Shizi village and Dabang village in Alishan Township, Chiayi County.  It is about 1,530 meters above sea level and was used to be a passage between Tfuya village and Laiji village of the Tsou. The name Shitzulu means crossroad because during the Japanese occupation, this area was marked as a crossroad on the mountain line. At that time, when the Alishan Forest Railway was built by the Governor-General in Taiwan, it was also the residence of the railway workers. After the completion of the railway, the Shitzulu Station was built. Later, due to the development of the camphor industry, they settled in camphor workers and formed a Han settlement.

Today, the Shitzulu Station settlement is only about 50 meters away from the Alishan Highway, which is the closest place between the railway and the highway.

The Dabang Police Dormitory, located behind the Dabang Police Post in Alishan, was used by the Governor-General in Taiwan to send officers there to supervise the local Tsou people during the Japanese occupation. Due to the changes in the Lifan Policy (Indigene Management), the Dabang Police Post had different names and functions. It was not until the legalization of the station where the officers were stationed that it was named the Dabang Police Officer Station in 1913. At that time, the police dormitory where Dabang was stationed not only provided police housing, but also hosted officials who came for inspection. After the war, the National Government changed it to a dormitory for the mayor’s family members. Currently, the building has been renovated and is being used as the Dabang Visitor Information Center.

The Dabang Police Station is located in Dabang Village, Alishan Township, Chiayi County on the terrace where Tefuye River and Changgu River merge into the mainstream, about 970 meters above sea level. The traditional Tsou name of the place, Dabanu, was taken from the last name of the chief who established the tribe. During the Japanese occupation, the Government-General in Taiwan set up a police post in the Dabang tribe. However, due to changes in the Lifan Policy (Indigene Management), the police post had different names and functions. After the police posts were legalized in 1913, it was named Dabang police officer station.

Today, Dabang Police Station still has an independent firearms and ammunition warehouse as well as the police dormitory of that time.