Sacred Hill

Sacred Hill (Chinese: 聖山) is a disappeared hill in Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is where a historical boulder called Sung Wong Toi was previously located. Sacred Hill is also known as Hill of the King of Sung in some old maps.[1] The name "Sacred Hill" is widely believed to be a name given by foreigners as no earlier corresponding Chinese name is known.

c. 1920s. The boulder bearing the three carved characters is situated on top of the hill (right); both were protected as sacred relics by a special ordinance in 1899. The gate, the steps to the inscription and the balustrade around the boulder were erected in 1915. The sacred hill was levelled and the boulder was broken up in blasting operations to extend Kai Tak Airport.

It is believed that Emperor Duanzong of the Southern Song Dynasty had settled on the hill for a period of time when he was escaping from the Mongolians. The hill was flattened during the Japanese Occupation of Hong Kong, when the Japanese determined to expand the nearby Kai Tak Airport at the expense of the sacred hill.[2]

References
  1. 1920 map. Lands Department, 1920.
  2. In search of the past: a guide to the antiquities of Hong Kong 香港文物志, The Urban Council of Hong Kong, 1988.

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