Ebee & James
- lfseec
- Apr 2, 2022
- 6 min read
Earlier on many have said that, “rocks have a life too.” But not only do they have souls, rocks contain a lot of histories too!
香港行跡 “Historical Walk Hong Kong” Ebee & James
With the 8th Victoria City boundary stone on Lung Fu Shan.
(Editorial note: it is not recommended for readers to find this boundary stone on their own as it is situated in an unsafe location. There is another similar city boundary stone in its original location on Hatton Road in Lung Fu Shan, which is easier to access.)
Walking along the streets or the hillside in Hong Kong, one may see several rectangular columns made out of stone. These stones actually have a story behind them. They are most likely ‘boundary stones’ that have histories that stretch beyond our ages. In the past, these stones have been used to mark boundaries of private or public property.
Most people would recognize two types of boundary stones that were more systematically documented: the boundary stones for Victoria City and boundary stones by the military. In 1903, the British Hong Kong government decided to mark the boundary of Victoria City (stretching from today’s Causeway Bay to Western district) with boundary stones (also known as boundary markers) in order to demarcate the City’s extent. Victoria City boundary stones have a square columnar shape with a conical tip, while their exposed portions can be as high as 98cm with the words “City Boundary 1903” inscribed. Military boundary stones can be traced back to 1845 and were used to indicate military sites. They are smaller than Victoria City boundary stones, and have words such as “BO” or “WD” carved on them. Military boundary stones tend to appear in Admiralty or at the centre of the Kowloon Peninsula. Lung Fu Shan is also an important site to find them.
Since the start of 2021, mountain craft coach and history lover Ebee Lam and James Ho set up “Historical Walk Hong Kong”, through which they hope to find and document these forgotten military boundary stones. They also hope to organise this information and make it accessible for the public. Nearing the end of last year, they made a surprising announcement of the re-discovery of an 8th Victoria City boundary stone at Lung Fu Shan. Soon, the 9th and 10th Victoria City boundary stones were found, which caused a stir.
Ebee: “We are personally interested in history, and coupled with the pandemic, we have spent more time in Hong Kong. We started our search for boundary stones at the old Mountain Lodge of the Hong Kong governor, and then we got to know there were still military boundary stones too. The research was hard, not only was there not enough information, but also conflicting ones too.”
“There is a Hong Kong history website called Gwulo. We have found quite a lot of information there, but it is quite sporadic and scattered as the website was not mainly about boundary stones. Therefore, we decided to organise what we have discovered, and put them online for others to reference. Boundary stones helped demarcate a certain lot, and different lots have different histories. Once you find these boundary stones, you would want to understand the history of the place. When shared online, it makes it easier for everyone to appreciate them. We also drew up a GIS website so that anyone looking for them can have precise coordinates. In many situations, it is difficult to find them just by looking at photographs and reading textual descriptions.”
“Actually the person who found the 8th Victoria City boundary stone was our internet friend and history lover Kalvin Chan. That day, he originally wanted to find a military boundary stone numbered “WD24” located in a military lot on High West, which was lost because of a road renovation. He could not find WD24, but discovered the 8th Victoria City boundary stone instead. Since no one was aware of an 8th stone at that time, James went searching for a boundary map immediately.”
James: “We eventually found a Victoria City boundary on an old British-made 1:2400 map, and when we compared the position of the boundary stone, it sits nicely on the boundary line. This is evidence that the boundary stone is in its original position. What was interesting is that the seven other boundary stones are all situated at intersections between roads and the city boundary, but this boundary stone intersects with the 700m contour line and is located on the hillside. This revealed that boundary stones are not only found at the intersections between the city boundary and main roads, they can also appear at the turning points of the city boundary or on the intersection of contour lines on hills. We shared our findings online, and a few days later a group of hikers found the 9th and 10th boundary stones at another intersection of the city boundary and the contour line at Rosaryhill, and at a turning point at Mount Davis.”
“Actually we were inspired by Lung Fu Shan Environmental Education Centre to set-up “Historical Walk Hong Kong”. After reading the centre’s publication, “The Pulse of Nature — Mid Levels West”, particularly Dr Stephen Davies’ discovery that a damaged water tank on the roadside was actually a historical object with hundreds of years of history, we were inspired by the possibility that the many inconspicuous things could have stories. Thus, I tried to look around, and before I knew it, I found a boundary stone of the old Mountain Lodge. And when we started our search for military boundary stones, we began at the Lung Fu Shan and High West area, which became the place where we found the most boundary stones. Old maps document 30 boundary stones, and we have now found 27!”
“Some people felt that we should not have publicised the locations of the boundary stones. True enough, after we published our report, a lot of people went treasure-hunting. Some added many trail markings, and others even cut through vegetation so that others could find them more easily. We certainly did not damage any trees. Also, because some of the boundary markers are located in dangerous areas, we do not suggest people go find the markers themselves. However, our stand is that we must first let more people know about these markers and trigger a discussion, which will compel relevant government departments to care for and conserve the markers. We hope that these departments will look after them and create proper roads, so that everyone can safely appreciate these historical objects. If no one knows about them, they will become dilapidated and vandalised… In the course of urban development, many boundary stones were treated as trash and thrown off the hills, and just like this, the historical record disappears.”
From left:
1. 香港行跡 “Historical Walk Hong Kong”
The two members set the location of the boundary stones on a GPS map personally, allowing everyone else to know their exact location. There are many military boundary stones in the Lung Fu Shan and High West districts. Many of them are safely situated along road sides, while others are situated on cliffs. It is recommended for hikers to know your boundaries and watch out for your own safety. Sometimes admiring from afar is good enough! More importantly, we should treasure the natural environment and these historical objects, and avoid causing damage to them.
2. A trace of a broken part of a tree near the newly re-discovered boundary stone. It is suspected to be chopped by hikers who wanted others to find the boundary stone, located in an inconspicuous location on a steep slope.
3. Used masks and rubbish litter the site of the boundary stone, some of them could have originated from higher up on the hill and were blown down. Hikers should look after objects that could be easily blown away by wind, including tissue paper and snack packaging, as well as remember to take away their own rubbish. Similarly, banana peels and fruit cores do not belong to the natural environment and should be taken away.
4. The boundary stone on Lung Fu Shan’s Hatton Road, which is located in its original position. Many other boundary stones in the city have been previously relocated, while one stone on Magazine Gap Road has mysteriously disappeared.
©️ Leelee Chan “The Pulse of Nature — Mid Levels West”
Find out more about the latest discoveries of on their official website:
What is behind the Lung Fu Shan old military water tank?
Who is Dr. Stephen Davies?
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