Turtle Island, or Gueishandao, was created by two volcanoes. The shape of the island as we see it today was formed of lava flows and clastic igneous rocks caused by volcanic eruptions. The area remains volcanically active, and an underwater hot spring flows in the waters surrounding the “head” of the turtle, contributing to a curious sight: the hot spring waters are approximately 100 degrees Celsius and highly acidic, and the large amounts of sulfur in them mix with the sea water and cause the waters to change color, creating a “yin-yang sea” phenomenon (photo 1). Around the “turtle’s neck” of the island four distinct rock strata are exposed, constituting a record of four separate eruptions that have occurred over the course of the past seven millennia (photo 2).
The earliest recorded settlement on Turtle Island can be traced back to 1853. It was established as a fishing community after passing fishermen, who would gather in an area on the turtle’s tail where there was a shallow lake, established a village there. At its most flourishing period, this village had a population of over 300 souls, and had an elementary school.
In 1977, the government relocated the entire population of the village to a bay, known today as Gueishan Borough, in Yilan County’s Toucheng Township. To put the island to military use, the army dug a series of tunnels on Turtle Island and set up a gun turret (photo 3). The gun had a range of 4,880m to the west, creating a crossfire zone with Yilan as a maritime defense line.
Photo: Chang Ho-ming, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報章厚明
After the villagers were relocated, the Matsu sea goddess statue the fishing community worshipped was taken to Taiwan proper, and the temple that had housed her was symbolically destroyed. After this, the armed forces on the island experienced a series of unfortunate happenings. To assuage the soldiers’ fears, the army brought in a Buddhist Guanyin statue, and this was enshrined in the temple, originally intended for Matsu, that had Taoist deities decorating the roof. This is a rare example in Taiwan of a Taoist temple housing a Buddhist deity (photo 4).
(Translated by Paul Cooper)
龜山島是由兩座活火山構成，我們今日看到的島體，其實是由火山噴發後的熔岩流和火山碎屑岩構成。在龜首周圍的海域，由於火山仍持續活動，遂出現「海底溫泉湧上流」的奇景：海底溫泉約為攝氏一百一十度，屬於強酸性，因大量硫磺和海水混合，使得海水顏色改變，出現「陰陽海」現象（圖一）。在龜首的頸部和島身，可以清楚看到四個岩層構成的地貌，記錄著過去七千年來的四次噴發（圖二）。
Photo: Chang Ho-ming, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報章厚明
龜山島上最早的定居紀錄可追溯到一八五三年，由於漁民停留當地休息，聚集在有淡水湖的龜尾處，形成村落，全盛時期島上曾有三百多名人口，還設有一間小學。
一九七七年，政府將島上居民全數搬遷至宜蘭縣頭城鎮的一處海灣，即為今日的龜山里。為了軍事用途，國軍在龜山島內部挖掘坑道，興建砲台（圖三），最遠射程向西可達四千八百多公尺，與宜蘭構築出交叉火網，形成海上防線。
隨著當地居民搬遷，原本漁民在龜山島上供奉的媽祖也被迎到台灣。島上的媽祖廟簷遂被象徵性的拆毀。沒想到，島上駐軍從此接連發生意外。為了安定軍心，國軍從台灣迎來一座觀世音菩薩，供奉在原本為媽祖廟的道教廟宇建築中，是台灣少見的道教廟宇供奉佛教神像的例子（圖四）。
Photo: Chang Ho-ming, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報章厚明
（台北時報章厚明撰）
Photo: Chang Ho-ming, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報章厚明
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