A study of development and changes of coastal settlements taking Hongmao Harbour as an example

摘要

Settlements originate from the inhabitancy of people in a region. The formation of its spatial form is caused by the natural conditions of the environment where the people are situated, and results from the mutual influence among the factors of community relationship, cultural concepts, construction technology, and so on of the inhabiting people. Settlement always varies with the change of these factors in their development process. This paper studies the case of a settlement in the form of a fishing village in Hongmao Harbour, which is located at the western side of Kaohsiung City with a history of development of over three centuries, and is formed by several single-last-name villages. By collecting the historical information, comparing the ancient maps with the current situation, and referring the ownership of land with the kinship, this paper clarifies the development and change of the settlements in Hongmao Harbour through the 100 years and more since the end of the Ching Dynasty, and analyzes the main factors affecting the formation of the existing style and features of the settlements, including the erosion of sea tides, cultural concepts, pressure of population growth, community relationship and land inheritance system. Moreover, through the distribution of ethnic groups in each single-last-name village and the overlapping of worshipping circles of temples, the paper induces the characteristics of the worshipping circles of Hongmao Harbour that takes kinship as the main axis.