Fengbitou, in Linyuan District of Kaohsiung, is a nationally designated archaeological site whose story is largely underground. The official heritage account says the site was first identified in 1941, and that archaeologist Kiyoshi Tsuboi encountered pottery and stone tools in a cultural layer while trenches were being dug nearby in 1945. The buried sequence, rather than a standing ruin, is the central evidence for understanding the place.
Systematic excavation followed in 1964 and 1965, when researchers from National Taiwan University and Yale University worked on the site. The project helped establish an early sequence for prehistoric cultures in southwestern Taiwan. Later investigations refined the protected boundary and studied additional areas; the official timeline notes field research continuing into 2019. That history matters because a site’s present outline is the result of surveys and research, not necessarily the full range of ancient activity.