古道走踏｜溯水：跟著水磨坑溪走古道

水源是一個聚落賴以維生的標的之一，取水之處有賴以為生的聚落。大家熟悉的北投有磺港溪、北投溪，但具有磺質的溪水並不適合灌溉、飲用，關渡平原上的貴子坑溪，則是多數人印象中作為灌溉的水道，然而水磨坑溪卻鮮少被提到，這一條在北投低調的溪流，究竟有什麼樣的故事？

水磨坑溪源於大屯山系旁的向天池，往山下流經貴子坑山、見證昔日北投社的傳統領域、漢人的墾殖史、開採白瓷土的窯廠，以及番仔溝旁的下社—番仔厝、北投保德宮等凱達格蘭族人的遷徙。這一次，我們跟著呂理昌老師來沿著水磨坑溪走一段，從一條溪流的流域來認識北投的前世今生，發現在原民、漢人從土地交易的租賃、產權的轉移，及殖民政府開採白瓷土產業，自然生態被浩劫而又被得以保存的過程中，地貌如何一點一滴被改變，這條乘載許多開發史的溪流，將帶著我們看到土地上乘載的歷史痕跡。

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.