Jinshan Wanli Hot Spring Area

Nestled between mountains and the sea, Jinshan and Wanli boast abundant and magnificent natural resources. Beyond diverse local products, the geothermal heat from Datun Mountain bestows both Jinshan and Wanli with excellent hot spring waters. The Datun Volcano Group is rich in sulfur; during the Qing Dynasty, Yu Yonghe, who came to Taiwan to collect sulfur, documented his experiences in "A Small Sea Travelogue" (裨海紀遊), attesting to the abundant volcanic sulfur deposits in this area since ancient times. Even today, the well-known Sishuangping and Gengziping remain highly productive sulfur mining areas. Hot spring water from the sulfur geothermal regions flows continuously into the Jinshan and Wanli areas; the Huangxi Hot Spring outcrop near Dayoukeng, in particular, has brought this precious natural treasure to Jinshan and Wanli. It is said that the rich hot spring resources of Jinshan and Wanli were discovered and used hundreds of years ago, with evidence of their use remaining. At that time, the Jiatou area of Wanli was still a settlement of the Ketagalan tribe's Jiatou community. The Jiatou people discovered that the hot springs emerging from the ground could heal wounds or skin diseases, and thus considered them medicinal water. It was not until the Japanese colonial period, when bath-loving Japanese introduced bathing culture to Taiwan, that hot springs in Jinshan were not only developed as sources but also saw the establishment of new and old guesthouses, making hot springs a warm indulgence that added to leisure enjoyment.