Zuoying Old City (Old City of Fongshan County)

The Old City of Zuoying, also known as the Old City of Fongshan County (鳳山縣舊城), is, apart from Hengchun, the best-preserved of Taiwan's surviving Qing-era walled cities. Located in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, this Qing dynasty walled city has a history spanning over three centuries and played a significant role during the Japanese colonial period and World War II as part of the Zuoying Naval Base military zone.

The city's defensive history began in 1722, when County Magistrate Liu Guangsi (劉光泗) built Taiwan's first earthen city wall with a moat system following the Zhu Yigui Rebellion of 1721, which had exposed the county seat's vulnerability. The Qing court, which had previously prohibited defensive walls in Taiwan to prevent rebellions, finally permitted fortification construction. Between August 1825 and September 1826, a complete stone wall with four gates — the East Gate (Fengyi Gate, 鳳儀門), West Gate (Dianhai Gate, 奠海門), South Gate (Qiwen Gate, 啟文門), and North Gate (Gongchen Gate, 拱辰門) — was constructed, making it — by one scholarly account — Taiwan's second masonry-walled city after Changhua, though it is popularly called Taiwan's first stone city.

During the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945), the old city underwent dramatic transformation. In 1933, the Japanese government designated it a nationally protected historic site under the Historic Sites, Scenic Spots, and Natural Monuments Preservation Law. However, as Japan's southern advance military strategy intensified, the Imperial Navy began constructing the Zuoying Naval Port (originally called Wandanzi Port) in 1938 and established the Sixth Naval Fuel Depot at Houjing. By 1940, the old city and adjacent Turtle Mountain (龜山) were designated a military restricted zone to protect the naval port. Over fifty households, along with the Zuoying Village Office, temples, and the Old City Church, were forcibly relocated, leaving the city's interior stripped of cultural properties. The West Gate was demolished during this period to accommodate military infrastructure.

During the final stages of World War II, the Japanese military deployed Shinyo Special Attack Units in the Zuoying area. Four of the ten Shinyo units stationed in Taiwan — the 20th, 21st, 29th, and 31st Squadrons — were based in or around the old city and Zuoying Naval Port. These units operated explosive-laden suicide motorboats designed for ramming attacks against Allied vessels. On October 12, 1944, the United States launched the massive Formosa Air Battle (台湾沖航空戦), with fighter planes conducting five days of aerial attacks concentrated on Takao (Kaohsiung), causing extensive damage to the naval facilities and surrounding areas.

After World War II, the Kuomintang government continued to administer the North and East Gate areas as military districts, and military dependents' villages (眷村) were established within the old city walls. In 1985, the Ministry of the Interior designated the North, South, and East Gates as first-class historic sites. The site is now classed as a national monument (國定古蹟), and the remains of the West Gate section of the wall were added to the protected area in stages from 2011. Today, the East Gate (Fengyi Gate) is the best-preserved of the four gates, with substantial wall sections still connected. The North Gate retains its original inscriptions and door god sculptures. The South Gate stands in a traffic circle with reinforced concrete additions from a 1961 renovation. The base of the West Gate was rediscovered in 2014 during the demolition of a military dependents' village, and a West Gate site park opened in 2023.