From Takow to Kaohsiung

Shiding (石碇) District, New Taipei City

Shiding (石碇; Hoklo: Tsiooh-tiaⁿ; lit. 'stone anchor') is said to derive from the large number of large rocks in the Jingmei River (景美溪) in this former township.
Possible interpretations include:

i) residents had to traverse rocks in the river, a kind of natural stepping-stone bridge, to get to their homes. Thus it was a like a "rock threshold", which in Hoklo Taiwanese is also called a 戶碇 (ho-teng; lit. "Household Anchor", which in Mandarin is called a 門檻 men-kan), from which emerged "rock threshold", which looked like "stone anchor"
ii) these rocks in the river represented a kind of "threshold" between the lower reaches and upper reaches of the river
iii) boats plying the river actually tied onto rocks when mooring;

Copyright Jiyue Publications 2022