Sixty Stone Mountain, Fuli Township, Hualien County, Taiwán
A trip away from urban Taiwan is not complete without a stop at Sixty Rock Mountain. Located east of Zhutian Village in Fuli Township, Hualien, the entire Sixty Stone Mountain is an ensemble of fields, hills and mountains. The mountains are at an average height of 800 metres above sea level, offering visitors an expansive view of the surrounding fields while looking down from the top. There are 10 pavilions built around the land for visitors to appreciate the breath-taking views under shade. Catch the blooming season of the Daylilies from August to September every year as the flowers occupy majority of the land to create a picturesque scenery just like one out of a painting. Visitors could choose to visit during non-blooming season to witness the beauty of vast emerald green fields across the land.
According to the Taiwan government, there are two stories about how the place was named as ‘Sixty Rock Mountain’ although no one could be sure which was true. The first account was that during the Japanese colonial era, about forty to fifty dan (a “dan” is a unit of dry measure for grain equal to 100 liters) of millet were usually harvested from an average paddy field. However this area could harvest up to sixty dan. The Chinese character for ‘dan’ was the same oneused for ‘stone’ hence the name, ‘Liushishi san’ a.k.a ‘Sixty Stone Mountain’.
The second story, which also took place during the Japanese colonial period, was the discovery of a camphor forest on the mountain so to engage in the production of camphor, all the trees there were cleared away. After the trees were gone, sixty large stones could be seen scattered over the land.
Epic Taiwan Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound
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