臺北市政府文化局

Refractory stone quarried and processed locally in Qilian was used for settler homes and canal slopes in the mid-18th century, Taipei city walls during the Qing Dynasty, and landmark buildings of the Japanese colonial period, such as the entrance gate of Taihoku Imperial University (now National Taiwan University) and the walls of the Taihoku Hospital of the Taiwan Government-General (now National Taiwan University Hospital), as well as supplying materials for steelmaking and the firing of glass and ceramics in the mid-20th century.

The name “Qilian” is derived from the indigenous Ketagalan word “Ki-irigan”, meaning “bay”. Topographically, Qilian marks a prominent bend in the Danshui River where it was once submerged, but later emerged owing to geological processes, resulting in banks rich in mustard-yellow, coral-red, mouse-gray, and brown stones formed by mineral deposits and plankton.

In the mid-18th century, the Hsieh family settled here, using local materials to build houses and forming a farming and stone-quarrying community. This continued until the 1970s, when quarrying was banned. In 2019, with the development of the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park, the former stone-quarrying settlements at Shipai Ruanqiao and Zhoumei were completely demolished. With the stone industry gone, in 2015 the Qilian stone buildings in the Donghua Settlement were also slated for demolition. Since then, local groups, the Ki-lrigan Culture Studio and the Qitoulang team, have been dedicated to documenting the quarrying culture, rescuing reusable Qilian stones and preserving these stones locally. They also set up the Qilian Stone Bank to promote sustainable stone recycling.

The Qilian Quarrying Culture Display Wall next to the Qilian Metro Station showcases preserved stone walls and presents the history and tools of the quarrying industry.