Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters

The “Nanzhuang Dongcun Dormitory” was constructed in the 10th year of the Shōwa era (1935) and underwent a renovation in the 15th year of the Shōwa era (1940). The original name was “Nanzhuang Camphor Production Storage Office.” The original site layout included a storage warehouse, a chief’s office, and an inspector’s dormitory.

In response to the call for action from local conservationists in 2007, the Miaoli County Government initiated an evaluation and identified the dormitory as an important architectural landmark representative of the historical buildings of industries in Taiwan. Additionally, it is a significant structure from the Japanese occupation period in Miaoli County. The current condition of the building is satisfactory, and its surrounding area is attractive. Furthermore, it has the potential for conservation and reutilization. Miaoli County Government announced that the site is a historical building on June 14th of the same year.

The historical building currently only has the chief’s dormitory, inspector’s dormitory, bathroom, and toilet remained. It only has one story with three buildings attached to each other. The feature of the building is a complex with both for office and home. It is one of the rare buildings in Taiwan that contains the small residential public bath. The layout of the building includes an L-shaped office with the chief’s dormitory in a single complex building, a U-shaped independent inspector’s dormitory, and an independent building used for public bathroom and toilet for dormitory. The appearance of the ridge and the top of the roof still preserves the Japanese traditional devil head (devil mask) ornamentation design, its roof truss is in Japanese style, its outer wall uses layering-free weatherboard as well as contains brick-footing foundation and raised floor. It has a high value of cultural asset conservation.

To preserve the history of the area, the Tri-Mountain National Scenic Area Headquarters of the Tourism Administration, Ministry of Transportation and Communications has linked and expanded travel routes in Nanzhuang. In 2018, the historical building was appropriated and restoration and reutilization are being actively implemented. We continue to operate the site under the “cultural tourism” model, linking it with attractions in the Nanzhuang Old Street area and the diverse cycling routes in Shitoushan. This enhances the overall cultural tourism experience in Nanzhuang. Our goal is to pass on and extend the historical significance of the building through ongoing visitation.