Su'ao Port

Su'ao Port (蘇澳港) is a natural deep-water harbor located in Su'ao Township, Yilan County, on the northeast coast of Taiwan. Situated at the southern end of the Lanyang Plain where the mountains meet the Pacific Ocean, Su'ao Bay has been recognized for centuries as one of the finest natural harbors on the island.

During the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), the Taiwan Governor-General's Office developed the port primarily as a fishing facility. In 1923 (Taisho 12), a T-shaped harbor basin was constructed at Nanfang'ao (South Harbor) capable of accommodating over 500 small fishing vessels, establishing what became known as the Su'ao Fishery Port. By the late 1930s, Su'ao had grown into one of Taiwan's three major fishing ports, alongside Kaohsiung and Keelung.

With the escalation of the Pacific War, Su'ao took on increasing military significance. The Japanese Imperial Navy utilized the port as a secondary naval facility for logistics and coastal defense operations. The Japanese military constructed observation stations on the commanding heights of Beifang'ao (North Harbor), including positions at Bizizhou and Daling Peak, to detect and identify American aircraft approaching from the sea. Anti-aircraft units were stationed throughout the port area. Fuel storage tanks were built along the southern shore of the fishing port and near Beifang'ao Bay, along with coal-fueling facilities for naval vessels.

In April 1945, the Imperial Japanese Army's Independent Mixed 112th Brigade (独立混成第112旅団), code-named "Raijin" (Thunder God), was formed and assigned to the defence of the Yilan region, with its headquarters at Yuanshan. The brigade's operational plan identified the coastline from Su'ao Port to the Lanyang River as the most probable Allied landing zone, and the unit concentrated its main force along the waterfront for a decisive defensive battle. Su'ao Port itself was a critical node in this coastal defense network.

During the final months of the war, Su'ao suffered damage from Allied air raids targeting port facilities and military installations. The original Japanese plans to expand Su'ao into a modern international port were abandoned due to wartime destruction and Japan's eventual defeat. After the war, the Republic of China took control of the port, which was later developed into the modern Suao Commercial Port in the 1960s–1970s. Today, the port complex encompasses a commercial harbor, the Republic of China Navy's Suao Naval Base (中正軍港), and the adjacent Nanfang'ao fishing harbor.