Kavalan City

The walled city of Kavalan, later Yilan City, was laid out in 1810 by prefect Yang Tingli (楊廷理) on the site of the existing Wuwei (五圍) settlement. The earthen ramparts were planted with a ring of Lagerstroemia (九芎) trees and were further reinforced in 1812 with thorny bamboo, a moat, and drawbridges at each of the four main gates. Sub-prefect Gao Daxiong (高大鏞) added gate towers in 1819. The four cardinal gates carried the formal names Zhenping (震平門) in the east; Lishun (離順門) in the south; Duian (兌安門) in the west; and Kanxing (坎興門) in the north, with the minor Yingchun Gate (迎春門) added to the northeastern segment later on. The walls and gates were demolished during the 1913 colonial street-rectification works (市街改正), the moat converted into the Yachiyo River (八千代川) and later piped underground as a sewer. The old walled city’s footprint survives today as the loop of streets named Jiucheng Road (舊城路). The lintels of the West Gate (兌安門) and North Gate (坎興門), the only physical fragments to survive, are now on display inside Yilan City Municipal Library (宜蘭市立圖書館).