From Takow to Kaohsiung

Qishan River (旗山溪)

Qishan River (旗山溪; lit. “Flag Mountain River) flows through Chiayi, Kaohsiung and Pingtung for 117 km before entering the Gaoping River (高屏溪). It is also known by its earlier name of 楠梓仙溪 (Mdn. Nanzixian River), though its Hoklo pronunciation of something like Lam-tsu-sian suggests this may be a transliteration of the older Tsou aboriginal name for the river and hence the lands around it in today’s Kaohsiung City and, since 2008, for the local Namasiya District.

The Liberty Times records a Kanakanavu (卡那卡那富; formerly considered a subgroup of the Tsou, now recognized as an individual and independent ethnic group of around 400 people) legend: Hundreds of years ago, a 15-year-old boy named Namasiya finds a giant mottled eel (鱸鰻) blocking the river, endangering his whole tribe. Hurrying back to the village he informs them of the problem but, due to fright he fell ill and died a few days later. Tribespeople join forces with a wild boar to kill the eel, relieve the problem, and for a long time afterwards they gave up hunting boars.



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