Even when you lengthen the yardstick to millennia, the Hengchun Peninsula has always drawn people to it.

Amid the peninsula’s windswept landscapes, there are more than 60 prehistoric archaeological sites, along with notable historic sites such as Hengchun’s old walled town, the tomb of the 54 Ryukuans killed in the Mudan Incident of 1871, Macacukes (the Shimen Ancient Battlefield), and various old indigenous villages.

Archaeological wonderland

The highest density of these sites is found at Eluanbi, which holds a truly special place in the hearts of Taiwan’s archaeologists.

As early as 1956, Lin Chao-chi, a professor of geology at National Taiwan University, identified some stone coffins that were uncovered during a road expansion project there. Some ten years later, Lin and NTU anthropology professor Song Wen-xun led a team to the spot, which is the southern­most archaeological site on the island. They confirmed that the coffins were indeed of prehistoric origin.

In 1981, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications established a park to the west and south of the Eluanbi Lighthouse. Workers building some paved walking paths uncovered quite a few artifacts in one location. To determine the boundaries and contents of that site, the bureau commissioned Li Kuang-chou from NTU’s anthropology department to lead a team on a short-term survey. The diversity and long archaeological timespan of the items they discovered there overturned the stereotypical impression of the Hengchun Peninsula as a remote and uncivilized place.

Drawn by the unique and important artifacts, many of Taiwan’s most renowned archaeologists, including Huang Shih-chiang, Tsang Cheng-hwa, Liu Yi-chang, Chen Maa-ling, Chen Yu-pei, and Kuo Su-chiu, have conducted digs there since the 1980s.

Today, after some six decades of discoveries, Eluanbi can truly be described as an “archaeological wonderland.” This year it will be recognized as an important heritage site by Pingtung County. Archaeologists argue that it is no less significant than the Beinan Site in Taitung City, which the Ministry of Culture lists as a potential World Heritage site. Hence, not only does Eluanbi meet the criteria for a national heritage site, but it also stacks up well against inter­national sites recognized for their cultural importance.

Eluanbi’s geographical advantages and abundant natural resources have attracted different groups to settle here over the course of 6,000 years.

A shell workshop from 4,000 years ago

Across from the Bao’an Temple beside Eluanbi Park is the Eight Dutch Heroes Shrine. This small, low building dates to the 1970s, when numerous stone coffins were unearthed during the construction of a residence along the roadside. The large rectangular stone coffins reflected neither the traditional burial practices of the Han Chinese nor the “crouched burial” traditions of local indigenous tribes. Perplexed by the discovery, the locals conjectured they might have been left by the Dutch, who had a presence in Southern Taiwan during the early modern era. The building is a youying gong temple, a type of Han Chinese shrine or temple dedicated to unclaimed remains.

But there were many questions unanswered and much more to be uncovered.

In 2019, a new construction project was initiated at the park entrance, where a ragtag collection of stalls had previously stood for nearly 50 years. Once again, a large number of human bones, stone coffins, and prehistoric artifacts were uncovered. In order to salvage these cultural artifacts, construction was immediately halted. A team of archaeologists from National Tsing Hua University (NTHU) led by Li Kuang-ti, formerly a research fellow at the Academia Sinica’s Institute of History and Philology, and Chiu Hung-lin, an associate professor at NTHU’s Institute of Anthropology, embarked on extensive excavations. The two-year dig yielded many “national treasures” in what archaeologists have hailed as the “greatest discovery in Taiwan in the last decade.”

Eluanbi Site 1 (OLP-I) is located next to the park management station, in an area originally slated for the construction of new shops. After all of the site’s artifacts were removed, the soil was refilled and the ground leveled. Forty-­nine tombs were excavated, along with numerous prehistoric artifacts and “ecofacts” (natural items deposited by human activity) such as pottery sherds, tools, and other items made from shell, jade, bone and antler. The sheer quantity and density of them was breathtaking.

Carbon-14 dating of these finds, combined with an analysis of their types and materials, as well as of the techniques used to craft them, confirms that the site dates back approximately 4,000 years. The concentration of objects made from different materials in different locations indicates that prehistoric peoples held a conception of spatial planning with regard to burial areas, work areas, and garbage disposal.

The abundance of shell remains found at the northwest side of the site is particularly noteworthy. Collectively, the objects point to signs of artisans at work. Examples of raw materials, materials cut into blocks, semi-finished products, finished products, and waste materials were all present. Processing tools such as grindstones, drills, stone hammers, and stone saw blades were also discovered. Within the site, there are also shell mounds and hearths used for rituals employing shells as offerings. The scale of this shell workshop surpasses any others found in Taiwan—or even, for that matter, in the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

The number of cultural relics unearthed at the site currently stands at over 10,000, with a total weight measured in tons.

An archaeological dig in 2019 invited the participation of local people. (courtesy of the Institute of Anthropology, NTHU)

Numerous shell artifacts are visible at the OLP-I site.  (courtesy of the Institute of Anthropology, NTHU)

When stone coffins were first discovered here, their unfamiliar appearance caused locals to imagine that they were of European origin. Since the Dutch had a presence in Taiwan in the 17th century, residents named this shrine dedicated to the excavated remains the Eight Dutch Heroes Shrine.

OLP-II: A village hidden in a coral forest

The clues provided by these artifacts can help us to reconstruct how people lived thousands of years ago.

Based on the location of OLP-I at the edge of ancient coastal sand dunes, surrounded by a varied terrain of coral outcrops, rocky shores, and sandy beaches, and with the abundant marine resources created by the confluence of the warm Kuroshio Current and the cooler China Coastal Current nearby, it is reasonable to infer that prehistoric people who lived by the sea here primarily engaged in fishing, hunting, and gathering. Apart from going to sea to fish, they also combed the rocks and beaches for seaweed, marine snails, shellfish, crabs, and other food. They utilized the shade provided by coastal plants near the dunes to process the seafood they gathered, and they also disposed of easily spoiled waste such as shells and fish bones in this area.

But where were their dwellings?

A winding wooden boardwalk in the park leads into the depths of the “coral forest.” Here lies Eluanbi Site 2 (OLP-II), where prehistoric people once resided.

The landscape here is completely different. Thousands of years ago, as a result of tectonic plate compression, coral limestone was uplifted from the seabed. Years of erosion by wind and water has left clusters of coral rocks known hereabouts as “coral forests.”

From clues found with the excavated artifacts, we can imagine tropical trees and vines growing amid huge rocks. They offered cool shade, and fresh water flowed out of crevices in the rocks. Only 200 to 300 meters from the sea, the site was uniquely blessed with environmental resources. Offering front-row views of the sea, it could be described as a “villa-grade” residence for prehistoric peoples.

Built in the shade of a coral rock “forest,” the prehistoric residences here were the high-class villas of their era, featuring ocean views.

Where prehistoric residences once stood in the coral forest, Chiu Hung-lin discovered a jade pendant.

Exquisite shell craftsmanship

Eluanbi is closer to the sea than any other archaeological site in Taiwan, and the artifacts unearthed there reveal a high level of adaptability in making use of oceanic resources. In that respect, it is unusual among prehistoric sites in Taiwan, where the focus is typically on terrestrial resources.

A diverse array of shell artifacts predominate here. Although the techniques used—such as cutting, sawing, drilling, and grinding—are similar to those used with other materials such as jade and animal bones, the multitude of shell species adds complexity. Each species differs in the shape, thickness, structure, and size of its shells, presenting unique challenges to craft. Before processing, artisans would have had to meticulously select the appropriate raw material for the intended artifact. It required a high level of expertise.

According to Song Yi-cen, who holds a master’s degree from the Institute of Anthropology at NTHU and is permanently stationed at the site, the data compiled by the team shows that over 150 species of shells have been unearthed there. Among them, there is the giant clam, which is notable for its large, thick shell with five lobes. The shell of the great green turban snail, with a glossy sheen resembling a lustrous pearl on its inner surface, is also common. Another frequent find is the cone snail, often humorously referred to by archaeologists as the “ice cream cone snail.”

Professor Chiu Hung-lin (center) with Wang Jia-lin (left) and Song Yi-cen, staff members who are stationed at the site long term.

The Austronesian motherland

When placing the Eluanbi sites in a sweeping timeline of the development of human civilization, their significance only grows.

Around 30,000 years ago, during the Ice Age, sea levels were lower, and Taiwan was connected to the Asian continent by a land bridge that facilitated overland migrations of people. Around 12,000 years ago, as the glaciers retreated and sea levels gradually rose, Taiwan once again became an island.

The development of civilization has been a long process. For people accustomed to living on land, the sea was initially a formidable barrier. It took thousands of years of adaptation before people could master the technology and skills required to navigate ocean waters. When they did, the seas supercharged their movement and migration. It wasn’t until about 4,000 years ago that some of the island’s inhabitants came “out of Taiwan” to settle the Austronesian world.

Taiwan is a maritime nation, intimately connected to and coexisting with the sea. Its maritime culture goes way back. The large numbers of fishing net sinkers of different types excavated at Eluanbi demonstrate how people were knowledgeable about various types of fishing gear and the techniques required to capture fish at different depths of water. The site also yielded copious bones of seasonal migratory fish, such as billfish and mahi-mahi. To catch these fish far offshore, the islanders must have had a deep understanding of ocean and wind currents, and of potential changes in marine conditions.

Chiu Hung-lin, an expert in physical anthropology, points out that the unearthed human bones show that many of these prehistoric people suffered from a condition commonly known as surfer’s ear, which is caused by rapid temperature and pressure changes experienced during activities such as diving. Many of the adult males also showed evidence of inflammation and indentation of the bone wall where the tendon attaches to the inner side of the lower end of the thigh bone. These conditions may have been caused by habitually standing on rocks or rafts, thereby requiring exertion on the inner side of the thigh to maintain balance. What’s more, because their diet mainly consisted of tough foods such as seaweed, fish, and shellfish, there was significant wear on their teeth, but surprisingly few cavities.

“If Keelung’s Heping Island [in the far north of Taiwan] was the ‘head’ of Taiwan 400 years ago, then if we went back 4,000 years, the island’s head would be Eluanbi,” says Chiu. It is reasonable to speculate that in those days the hub that connected Taiwan with the rest of the world was Cape Eluanbi at the island’s southernmost tip. Even in the absence of documentary records, artifacts left behind at archaeological sites provide sufficient evidence of prosperous and vibrant civilizations flourishing here. Archaeological discoveries serve as crucial keys to the distant past. Amid the pulsating sound of the sea meeting the land, one can’t help but feel a palpable sense of excitement when walking at Eluanbi.

Various types of net sinker demonstrate prehistoric people’s mastery of the tools and techniques needed to reap the sea’s bounty.

Asia’s only fortified lighthouse, the Eluanbi Lighthouse features exterior trenches and arrowslits in its outside walls.