鄒族

Gongtian Village
從空中俯瞰公田聚落

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
從高處眺望番路鄉觸口村

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.

Wailaiji (Outer Laiji) Village
從高處眺望外來吉部落

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 (Inner Laiji) Village
從高處眺望內來吉部落

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.

Lalauya Hamlet
從遠處眺望樂野部落

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)
十字路通往來吉步道的入口指標

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.