North-west of Dulan Village in Donghe Township, on Taiwan’s southeast coast, the Dulan Archaeological Site occupies a gentle marine terrace below the Coastal Mountain Range. It is a compact place to encounter a much larger story: the movement of people, materials and ideas along Taiwan’s east coast across many prehistoric periods. The National Museum of Prehistory’s Taiwan Prehistory Culture Cloud identifies Dulan as a representative site of the eastern coast’s megalithic culture.
The museum’s account places the emergence of the Qilin, or megalithic, cultural tradition in this part of Taitung around 3,500 years ago. Large worked stones are its most visible hallmark, including monoliths, stone walls, stone wheels and rock coffins. The word “culture” here refers to archaeological patterns and material remains, not to a single community whose identity can be reconstructed in every detail. The evidence is varied and researchers continue to interpret what it means.