Nanshan Fort

Nanshan Fort

Nanshan Fort

Nanshan Fort, located in a valley between Dengguang Mountain and Xichang Mountain, about 1 kilometer southeast of Zhapu Town, faces the sea and presents a majestic sight.

According to the 12th year of the Republic of China’s “Supplementary Annals of Pinghu County”: “During the First Sino-Japanese War in the 20th year of the Guangxu reign, the navy suffered a defeat, shocking both north and south. Coastal provinces successively took defensive measures. Zhapu Town in our county, being the foremost gateway of western Zhejiang, had half of its previously established military posts already disbanded. Governor Liao Shoufeng inspected key coastal passes and personally visited Zhapu Town to select strategic points for fortification. He then ordered the commander of Zhapu Town, who also led the Yin Yu Full Army, along with Yang Meisheng, head of the Jiayi Naval Camp Affairs Office, to build an additional fort at Nanshan. Construction began in autumn and was completed within a year, with one Armstrong foreign artillery piece installed. A long encircling wall was built along the coast, with tunnels dug at key points, pine wood palisades erected on the tidal flats, and bamboo stakes interspersed. Several landmines were also secretly buried at locations such as Quanjia Bay and Dragon King Hall… Furthermore, one hundred trained soldiers were deployed to the county town to provide distant support. It has been noted that for decades since the British invasion, the coastal defense of Zhapu Town has ranked as the most critical.”

Two existing mixed-earth (containing glutinous rice, alum, lime, sand, etc.) poured forts remain, along with one breech-loading iron cannon equipped with mechanical mechanisms, weighing approximately 16.7 tons in total. The cannon bears the inscription “Made by Jiangnan Manufacturing Bureau, Year of Wuxu, Guangxu Reign (1888).” Aside from surface weathering and erosion of the forts and some missing parts of the iron cannon, the structures are largely well preserved.