Immortal Island Beacon Tower

Immortal Island Beacon Tower

The Immortal Island Beacon Tower is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

The Immortal Island Beacon Tower is located on Dundai Mountain in the northeast of Xianrendao Village, Jiulongdi Town, Gaizhou City. This peninsula was originally called Rabbit Island, consisting of four small hills that, when viewed from afar, resemble a sleeping rabbit lying with its head to the west and tail to the east. One of the Eight Scenic Spots of Xiongyue — “Furious Tides at Rabbit Island” — is situated here.

The beacon tower, perched on the hill shaped like the rabbit’s tail, stands firmly and watches the sea attentively. The tower is square-shaped, oriented north-south, with a base side length of 13.5 meters and a top side length of 11.02 meters. It tapers gradually from bottom to top and is about 15 meters high. The base is built with stone slabs, while the main body is constructed from blue bricks. The top of the tower features eight symmetrically arranged water drains on all four sides, with battlements at the peak. The core is compacted with white lime soil, and the brick walls are pointed with white lime. Originally, there was a watchtower on the top of the tower.

Beacon towers are also known as beacon mounds, mound beacons, signal fires, wolf smoke towers, fire relay towers, or fire raising towers. The historical story “The Beacon Fire Play to the Lords” provides one of the earliest records of beacon towers, though military facilities with similar functions existed even earlier during the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Due to their crucial role in warfare, they were extensively built throughout successive dynasties. The great Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu wrote in his poem “Spring View”: “Beacon fires blaze for three months straight; A letter from home is worth ten thousand in gold.” This shows that beacon fires and wolf smoke had become synonymous with war, making beacon towers inseparable from warfare.

In our region, beacon towers are square in shape, whereas other regions may have round or polygonal ones. Those on high mountains are mostly built of stone, while those on plains and hills are commonly made of brick or a combination of brick and stone. Towers can be either hollow or solid; locally, almost all are solid. They are built using blue bricks that taper gradually from bottom to top, sealed with white lime, filled inside with compacted earth, and accessed via rope ladders. Battlements are built on the top, and water drains are installed around to prevent rainwater from eroding the compacted earth inside and causing damage to the tower. The choice of solid towers is mainly because they are built near natural villages and military posts, eliminating the need for stationed troops during peacetime, thus greatly reducing construction and maintenance costs.

Beacon towers are generally over ten meters tall, some even higher, and are located in higher or open areas without natural barriers. This design facilitates the convenient and effective transmission of messages using smoke and fire, allowing rapid alerts in case of enemy activity. As military installations, beacon towers are highly visible, unlike other military structures that require concealment. Consequently, they often became prime targets for enemies during wartime. Despite this, they stood firmly at the forefront of battle, faithfully performing their duty of monitoring enemy movements. Beacon towers integrate multiple functions such as military early warning, communication of military intelligence, and fortification, with some also serving as post stations. Historical records indicate that there were 25 beacon towers within Gaizhou territory alone during the Ming Dynasty, serving as a testament to the strong governance of the Ming regime in the Yingkou region.

In 1984, the Yingkou Municipal People's Government designated the Immortal Island Beacon Tower as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2007, the People's Government of Liaoning Province (Liaozhengfa [2007] No. 22) listed it as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit. In 2014, the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau funded its restoration. The cultural relic protection scope and construction control zone announced by the People's Government of Liaoning Province (Liaozhengfa [2008] No. 48) are as follows: the area within 30 meters outside the base of the beacon tower is the protected zone; the area within 80 meters outside the protected zone is classified as a Class V construction control zone, where the terrain and landforms must be preserved.

Source: Municipal Bureau of Culture, Sports, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television; Contributor: Dong Wenjie

Further Reading:

· Seventh Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Liaoning Province