Introduction
The township is located on the northernmost end of Pingdi Township in the remote mountain region of Kaohsiung County; it is penetrated by the Danshuei River at the bottom and the west bank of the Laonong River at the top. The township is adjacent to Maolin Township in the east, Shalin Township in the west, Meinong Town and Gaoshu Township of Pingtung County in the south, as well as Taoyuan Township in the north. The terrain resembles that of a long gourd, with a length of 36km from south to north and width of 5km from the east to west. The narrowest 3km is surrounded by mountains on all four sides, with picturesque scenery and a mild climate. The scenic South Cross-island Highway passes through the Laonong, Baolai Villages, benefiting the development of local resources.
Origin of the Township’s Name
Terrain theory
Liouguei was called Liouguei Li due to its turtle-like mountain called San Ci Jian (the three tips) at the back of the village; the San Da Yan (three large rocks) next to the lake in the village, which was also referred to as the turtle shaped rock of the three large rocks. The large rocks in front and at the rear of the village formed six turtle-shaped mountains, hence ancient people call it Liouguei (six turtles), the name has been passed down and continues to be used today. Currently, the turtle mountains stand behind the villages of Liouguei, Yibao and Wunwu, only the Guei Wang Yan Temple remains to be visited and commemorated.
Tribal name theory
Liouguei was called Liouguei Li because of the group name of the Sih She Shou Fan Mang Zih Mang Fan of the Pinbu Tribe “Lakuri”, during the Japanese occupation in 1920 it was renamed Liouguei Li Village. The people of Mang Zih Mang group lived in the Yujing Township in Tainan County; they were expelled by the Siraya Tribe during the Ming Jheng Dynasty, who were migrating west. They crossed the Neiwu Mountain to settle here and established the Liouguei Li group
Legend theory
The Laonong River next to Liouguei had six large turtle-shaped rocks, they eventually transformed into sprites; in particular, five of them decided to practice Buddhism in the caves of the Fifth Discipline at the 18 Arhats Mountain. One of them was left loitering on Earth, causing trouble and pestering people. It was later subdued by the 18 Arhats. People opened the sixth cave and locked the turtle inside to collect its thoughts. This is how the name of 18 Arhats Mountain an Liouguei came about.
Legend has it that there are six large rocks in the Laonong River under the Liouguei Bridge. When the river swells, the six rocks look like six giant turtles floating in the river, there it was called Liouguei (six turtles). The largest of the rocks is called the Guei Wan Yan and is regarded by people as the king of turtles and guardian angel; it was enshrined and often worshipped by people. The turtle king in Liouguei is a water turtle; the turtle god next to the Yimin Temple of Cishan in Kaohsiung County is a star turtle that looks up into the sky, the shrine is created at the tail of the turtle, blessing its vast number of followers a smooth sailing in all their endeavors.
The Arhats Mountain was also called Guanyin Mountain and had flourishing vegetation. However, when the township citizens began lumbering for profit, Guanyin left in anger and Guanyin Mountain collapsed into 40-odd sparsely vegetated mountain region. When Guanyin left, the 18 Arhats and their follower remained behind to guard the treasures of Liouguei. People believed that the mountains are the incarnations of the 18 Arhats. Since the 18 Arhats guarded the wealth of Liouguei, people of Liouguei believed that if you work hard, making a living in Liouguei is easy. However, if you want to spend your money outside of Liouguei, you will become miserable.
The legend of the Nine Dragon Jewels
The Nine Dragon Jewels display is established at the entrance to Tunnel No.6, it is made from boulders on the riverbed at the intersection between the Bulao River and the Laonong River. The boulder’s material is hard, they are typical river rocks and green rocks found in Laonong River. Since its iron composition is exceptionally hard, not only did rock burglars who tried to cut it for convenience of transportation fail, their drill bits even melted due to extreme temperature.
Later on, rock burglars tried to ship the boulders out with flatbed trucks, fortunately they were spotted by villagers, who reported to the police and intercepted them. The rocks were offloaded at the entrance of the tunnel, this was when a string of myths and legends occurred. People on motorcycles allegedly collided into the boulders and died the very next day; later on, two Township Chiefs passed away due to illness, even the director of the Liouguei and later on Cishan police precinct could not escape the fate. Therefore, the successors placed the boulders in the corner.
The most interesting theory propagated among the public was: the boulders were eggs spawned by the turtle king, when they were removed to the tunnel, the six tunnels are like the throats of people, things from the outside of the township into the township is considered as normal swallowing, while the vice versa is considered as choking; such fongshuei had a major influence on the sovereign rights of the authorities.
Since the boulders contain rich iron, hence the exterior is prone to oxidation and are covered in red rust, people also began to rumor that the boulders are in red because the turtle eggs are hurt and bleeding. This further enhanced the persuasive power of the myth and fongshuei. Locals suggested placing the boulders in the water and washing them until the original green color and cloudy totems appear. By doing so, they believe that the boulders will bestow blessings upon the village, for turtle eggs are reborn after being soaked in water, and this will be able to brush away the fearsome legends that are created as a result of mankind’s greed.