The Grand South Gate

   It is a municipal historic site in Tainan City, and it is categorized as the city wall. The Grand South Gate of Granite City block, also known as Ning-Nan Gate, is a double-stories tower with East Asia's hip-and-gable roof. At the gate of the city, the old stone outer wall with a half-moon shape protrudes. The battlements are set on the city wall and the round-arched door below. There is a forest of ancient steles on the right side, and it is an important material for researching the history of Tainan City and an exquisite place for public people. The remaining Grand South Gate city is composed of an east-west inner city in the north and crescent-shaped in the south. The city wall is divided into two gates, The Ning-Nan gate is located in the center of the inner city, and The Grand South Gate is located in the southeast of crescent-shaped; on the Ning-nan gate, there is an East Asia's hip-and-gable roof building with two floors high and three rooms wide. Corridors surround the first floor, the buildings with a single bay and gable roofs on both sides, and have the same orientation as the gate tower, which should be the room for soldiers to rest or store weapons.

   The Grand South Gate was the thoroughfare in Qing Dynasty from Tainan to the Feng-Shan area. It was originally built with wooden fences. After the 53rd year of Qian-Long (1788), it was rebuilt with cement and bricks. In the 15th year of Dao-Guang (1835), to strengthen the defense, an outer structure was built in the shape of a crescent. The enemy could be easily trapped and captured once they entered the structure the way turtles are caught in an urn that is why it was also called the urn city or barbican. Inside the city was a bustling wet market and a firewood market, and outside the city is Kui-Dou Hill covered with graves. In the 1930s, Japan created a park centering in this area and gradually changed the appearance inside and outside the city gate. The burial areas outside the city are now mostly used as school districts. However, in the deep historical atmosphere around the city gate, peoples can still find traces of the olden days.