Madou Ancient Port Cultural Park

The Madou Ancient Port Cultural Park is the most legendary place in Madou. This site, known as Shuizhuotou, is fabled to be a 'dragon's lair' from which emperors are said to emerge—a legend deeply believed by locals as a feng shui treasure land with a long history. Beyond these legendary tales, this area was historically a bustling port on the Daufeng Inner Sea. Shuizhuotou served as a three-pronged port within the Daufeng Inner Sea, strategically positioned to allow ships to travel directly to Fujian. It was once a significant export hub for sugar. Additionally, owing to the proliferation of sika deer in the Matou She community (where the Pingpu people resided), large quantities of deerskin were also exported from here. Merchant ships docked and unloaded goods at Shuizhuotou, contributing to its temporary prosperity, earning it the distinction as Madou's place of origin. At that time, besides the Pingpu people, there was also Madou Street, primarily inhabited by Han Chinese. In the early days of Han Chinese immigration to Taiwan, most people settled near ports, forming communities and marketplaces. Later, environmental changes led to river channels silting up and the coastline shifting westward, leaving only remnants of the wharves today. The vestiges of the ancient waterway and the old ship nails discovered here invite visitors to imagine the lively scene of ships and merchants traversing the port in its heyday. To explore the stories of this place in greater depth, visit the Daufeng Inner Sea Story Museum nearby, with its distinctively slanted exterior.