The park is in memory of the soldiers fighting against the Japanese during the Guangxu era in Qing dynasty. In addition to the worship hall that allow the visitors to pay respect to the martyrs, at the side there are an ancient gun, pavilion and flower rack. The ancient gun was a defensing tool against enemies when Liuming chuna was in office and the Japanese soldiers attacked in Guangxu 10 in Qing dynasty (1884). It was placed in Guashan Hall (the present Jiang Kai-Shek’s memorial Hall), moved to Guashan yuan restaurant in 1972, and finally moved to the present site in 1983.
Yiwei Baotai Heping Park (Baiqua Mountain Battle Memorial Park) was originally called “Baiquashan Maytr Memorial Park.” After refurbishment, it was renamed “Yiwei Baotai Heping Park” in February 2008. Redecorated, the park is tranquil and beautiful. With modern trails and wide wooden plankways, visitors can overlook Dadu River and recall the dauntless army resisting the Japanese invasion and their courage to sacrifice here. Now, war has ceased to exist. Instead it is replaced with green trees, bugs chirping, and quietness. Many folks love to work out here.
During the Sino-Japanese War, in the 20th year of the Guangxu Period (1894), the Qing Dynasty lost the war and signed Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan, where Taiwan was ceded to Japan. Outraged, Taiwanese citizens organized militias to fight the Japanese.
The Japanese troops landed in northeastern Taiwan at Yanliao and made their way south, where they encountered an ambush by the militia. The Battle of Baguashan was the largest in the history of Taiwan’s resistance against Japan. In the early hours of August 28, the Japanese crossed Dadu River by force to attack the eastern high ground of Mt. Bagua. Militia general Peng-Nien Wu, led his men to fight for their survival in a bloody battle that lasted 3 days and nights. Eventually, Prince Kitashirakawa Yoshihisa of Japan was mortally wounded and Major General Yamane Nobunari was shot dead by the militia.
However, due to the massive difference in firepower, the Japanese troops took control of Mt. Bagua and Changhua City, with the militia sustaining 4,000~5,000 casualties. With their flesh and blood, they fought off well-equipped enemies outnumbering them three times over, thus their valiant, heroic spirit are immortalized for the future generations to admire and respect.
