Walking the ancient trail｜Tracing the water: Follow the ancient trail along Shuimokeng River

Water sources are essential for the survival of settlements, and where there is water, there are thriving communities. In Beitou, people are familiar with Huanggang River and Beitou River , but their sulfuric waters are unsuitable for irrigation or drinking. On the Guandu Plain, Guizikeng River is often remembered as a channel for irrigation. However, one stream that is rarely mentioned is Shuimokeng River , a quiet waterway in Beitou with its own unique story to tell.

Shuimokeng River originates from Xiangtian Pool in the Datun Mountain Range and flows downhill past Guizikeng Mountain. It has witnessed the traditional territory of Kipatauw (the Beitou She Indigenous community), the Han Chinese colonization history, white porcelain clay kilns, and the migration of the Ketagalan people through Ē-Siā and Huan-á-tshù  near the present-day Pao-Te Temple in Beitou.

This time, we follow Professor Lü Li-Chang along a segment of Shuimokeng River to explore Beitou’s past and present through the watershed of this stream. From land lease agreements and property transfers between Indigenous and Han communities to the colonial government’s exploitation of white porcelain clay, this creek has borne witness to the devastation and partial preservation of the natural ecosystem. By examining the transformations in the landscape caused by these historical developments, Shuimokeng River reveals traces of history etched into the land and serves as a record of Beitou’s layered history.