Sheliao Island Battery Group (Heping Island / Peace Island)

The Sheliao Island Battery Group (社寮島砲台群) is a complex of coastal defense fortifications located on Heping Island (和平島, formerly known as Sheliao Island 社寮島), a small island connected by bridge to Keelung City's Zhongzheng District in northern Taiwan. Situated at the strategic entrance to Keelung Harbor, one of Taiwan's most important ports, the site represents nearly four centuries of layered military history under successive colonial powers.

SPANISH PERIOD (1626–1642): In 1626, the Spanish expedition from the Philippines established Fort San Salvador (聖薩爾瓦多城) on the western tip of Sheliao Island, building additional hilltop and coastal fortifications across the island to protect the harbor entrance. The Spanish used Keelung as a base for trade and missionary activity in northern Formosa.

DUTCH PERIOD (1642–1668): In 1642, Dutch forces from Fort Zeelandia in southern Taiwan attacked and captured the Spanish positions. The Dutch renamed and maintained the fortifications, using Sheliao Island as part of their northern Taiwan garrison until the Koxinga period.

QING DYNASTY PERIOD (1886–1891): Following the Sino-French War (1884–1885), during which French forces attacked and briefly occupied Keelung, Taiwan Governor Liu Mingchuan (劉銘傳) undertook a comprehensive modernization of coastal defenses. To a design by a German engineer recorded in Chinese sources as 鮑恩士, new Western-style batteries were constructed on Sheliao Island, completed in 1891. These featured modern artillery positions designed to prevent a repeat of the French incursion.

JAPANESE COLONIAL PERIOD (1895–1945): After Japan acquired Taiwan through the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, the Imperial Japanese Army conducted a thorough assessment of existing Qing-era defenses. In 1899, the Taiwan Governor-General's Fortification Bureau submitted the 'Keelung Fortress Permanent Defense Plan' (基隆要塞防禦永久要領書), which called for the construction of 15 permanent batteries and 2 temporary batteries — 7 for coastal defense and 8 for landward defense.

Construction of the new Sheliao West Battery began in May 1901 (Meiji 34) and was completed in September 1903 (Meiji 36). The Sheliao East Battery is estimated to have been built around 1912 (Meiji 45 / Taishō 1). Both batteries were designed by the Army Fortification Headquarters and represented state-of-the-art coastal defense engineering. The battery built in 1901–1903 was armed with Canet-pattern 27 cm guns (加式三十口徑二十七糎加農), whose installation was finished in 1904; in 1912 the armament was changed and a new battery of 9 cm quick-firing guns was added against small craft. The East Battery area, situated on high ground (elevation 60–65 meters) on the northeast side of the island, retains its electric-light (searchlight) station, magazines, observation room, searchlight store and platform, and water cistern.

The batteries employed the distinctive 'mountain-embracing' (抱山式) design philosophy, exploiting the natural valley terrain to completely conceal the fortification from seaward observation. This made them extremely difficult to target during a naval bombardment. The Keelung Fortress Command (基隆要塞司令部) was formally established in May 1903 and became operational in August of the same year, overseeing all fortress batteries in the Keelung area.

During World War II, the Keelung Fortress remained an active military installation. By 1943, forces under the command included the 13th Artillery Corps, elements of the 162nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Corps, the 76th Independent Infantry Brigade, Navy garrison units, fortress communication and engineer units, and searchlight squadrons. The batteries and fortress system defended Keelung Harbor against potential Allied attack until Japan's surrender in August 1945.

POST-WAR: After the war, the Republic of China military stationed a searchlight unit at the East Battery. The site was eventually decommissioned. In 2004, the Keelung City Government registered the East and West Sheliao Batteries as historic buildings, upgrading them to Municipal Monuments in 2006. Restoration work on the East Battery commenced in 2009. Today, only the East Battery is open to public access; the West Battery remains within an active military zone. The East Battery's overgrown concrete and stone ruins offer commanding views of the coastline and the Arahōwan (阿拉寶灣) scenic area of Heping Island Geopark.