DATE:ESTABLISHED IN 1875-1876 A.D.

LOCATION: ANPING DISTRICT, TAINAN CITY

DESCRIPTION:

During the late Ching period, China was weak and Japan attempted to take over Taiwan, using the "Mu Tan She" incident as an excuse to invade Taiwan in the twelfth year of the Tung-chih period (1874). In the thirteenth year of the Tung-chih period, the Ching government issued a protest to Japan, and sent the Minister of Maritime Affairs Shen Pao-chen as imperial commissioner to oversee the improvement of Taiwan's coastal defenses. When Shen Pao-chen arrived in Taiwan, he suggested the construction of a gun emplacement at Anping. This is "I Tsai Chin Cheng," which was built of red brick as a simple but solid fort. There is a moat outside the fort, and the fort was armed with five large armstrong guns and eight small guns. It also contained a storehouse for provisions, a barracks, a mess hall and an ammunition storehouse. In the middle of the fort is a square for soldiers to drill. Outside the fort stands an inscription which reads: "I Tsai Chin cheng" while the inscription inside reads: "the myriad tributaries which plow through Mt. Ti Chu." Both of these inscriptions were composed by Shen Pao-chen.