Military Secret Site Unveiled: Guidong Cave Military Ruins Open for Tours

Text & Photography / Kaohsiung City - Government Information Office
 
“Guidong Cave” is described as Kaohsiung’s most mysterious stalactite cave. In just over a month since its opening in early May, it has attracted nearly 3,000 visitors, and film crews have come to scout locations. Military tunnel exploration has become the hottest new tourist attraction in Kaohsiung.

Guidong Cave was built in 1939
Guidong Cave is located near the Shoushan hiking entrance, beside the Gushan Branch of the Kaohsiung City Police Bureau. It has four entrances, including one at the Women’s Vocational School during the Nationalist period and another at the back door of the Gushan Branch. The internal structure of Guidong Cave forms a “丹” (radical) shape, with a total tunnel length of about 200 meters. There are two main tunnels connected by side passages. The tunnels are approximately 2.8 meters high and 3 meters wide, with a steep escape tunnel in the middle leading directly to the Shoushan exit.

Unveiling the Military Secret Site
After Japan’s defeat in the war, the Nationalist government continued to use the air-raid shelters. Inside, there are two spaces preliminarily identified as detention rooms from the Garrison Headquarters period. The heavily soundproofed Guidong Cave, concealed exceptionally well, has entrances hidden on both sides. As soon as you enter through the iron gate of the Guidong Cave tunnel, you can feel the mysterious and unfathomable aura of the dark passageway. The walls are entirely lined with Styrofoam for soundproofing—there are 1,636 pieces in total. Some sections without Styrofoam create an immediate echo effect when you speak, vividly recreating the intense and fearful atmosphere of those times, still delivering a powerful impact.

The passage includes spaces such as restrooms, ventilation machine rooms, detention rooms, and interrogation rooms. Uniforms, batons, handcuffs, gas masks, civil defense passes, and stun batons are among the Garrison supplies found in the tunnels. The walkway displays old photos, including rare replicas of classified national archives, as well as movie stills from films like “Black & White” and “Sweet Alibis,” which were previously filmed here. There is also a row of long benches recreating the scene of the mobilization office during wartime.