The earliest Tsaoling landslide can be traced back to June 6, 1862 during the Chiayi-Tainan earthquake. That earthquake related landslide caused a cliff at 800 meters above sea level. According to a ‘Report of the Major Chiayi Earthquake” published by the Taiwan Weather Station (the former Central Weather Bureau) on March 30, 1942 stated that the cliff was formed by a huge earthquake that occurred 80 years prior to the year of 1942. The report also stated “On May 11 in the First year of Emperor Tongzhi of the Chin Dynasty (1862), a big earthquake caused city walls to collapse. Several cracks extended downward to a depth of about 30 meters; mud and water spouts were examples of the large ground changes.

1. Huang, Chien-Shui, Hsin Chang Ho, Huan-Chi Liu (1983). The geology and landslide of Tsaoling area, Bulletin of the Central Geologaical Survey, 2, 95-112. 2. Hung, Ju-Jiang (1980). A study on Tsaoling rockslides, Taiwan, Journal of Engineering Environment, 1, 29-39.