Hengdang Fort

Hengdang Fort

Hengdang Fort is located at the foot of Hengdang Mountain in the middle reaches of the Pearl River, standing opposite three other forts—Zhenyuan, Jingyuan, and Weiyuan—across the river. It was built in the 56th year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty (1717). In the 20th year of the Jiaqing reign (1815), Jiang Youxian, the Viceroy of Liangguang, added a moon-shaped battery in front of the fort. The fort spans ninety-one zhang in circumference, with its surface, gun ports, and ramparts constructed from lime-sand-clay mortar, and was equipped with forty iron cannons of various sizes. In the 5th year of the Daoguang reign (1835), Guan Tianpei, the Viceroy of the Guangdong Navy, renovated and reinforced the fort. In the 20th year of the Daoguang reign (1840), Lin Zexu, the Viceroy of Liangguang, had hidden piles driven into the river west of Hengdang Fort and installed a removable wooden boom chain between the east side of the fort and Jingyuan Fort, forming what became known as the “Golden Lock and Bronze Gate” of the Humen Fortress, used to block and intercept enemy ships. After being destroyed by British forces, the fort was rebuilt in the 23rd year of the Daoguang reign (1843). It was again destroyed during the Second Opium War in the 6th year of the Xianfeng reign (1856). In the 9th year of the Guangxu reign (1882), Zhang Shusheng, the Viceroy of Liangguang, received approval to construct the Lower Hengdang Fort, and in the same year, Zeng Guoquan, also Viceroy of Liangguang, restored the Upper Hengdang Fort.