Japanese Wartime Tunnel beside Pillbox 022 Sha Shek Tan [????- ]

Submitted by Freddie on Thu, 02/18/2021 - 06:02
Current condition
Ruin

Here is the look of the side of PB 022 with Sha Shek Tan at the far end background.

Pillbox 022 side_Sha Shek Tan
Pillbox 022 side_Sha Shek Tan, by Freddie

The Japanese tunnel is located at the foot of the hill underneath the treeline not very far from behind pillbox 022.

Pillbox 022 front_Sha Shek Tan
Pillbox 022 front_Sha Shek Tan, by Freddie

It is very easy to overlook the tunnel as it is staying hidden under the treeline, and difficult to spot if you are walking further out on the rocky shore.

Japanese tunnel adjacent to PB022
Japanese tunnel adjacent to PB022, by Freddie

 Here is the tunnel entrance,

Entrance to Japanese Tunnel_PB 022
Entrance to Japanese Tunnel_PB 022, by Freddie

Then you will see a junction ahead once you entered the tunnel.  I couldn't quite remember what is on the right but I think it is either a very shallow tunnel or simply a large chamber area.  But you can go further deep toward the left side of the tunnel.

Junction of Japanese Tunnel_PB 022
Junction of Japanese Tunnel_PB 022, by Freddie

The tunnel to the left with a seemingly dead-end .

tunnel to the left_PB 022
tunnel to the left_PB 022, by Freddie

But there is a very small opening flooded with water at the end of the tunnel.  I didn't go further in as the only possible way is to crawl through it.

small opening at tunnel end_PB 022
small opening at tunnel end_PB 022, by Freddie

Heading back to the passageway toward the entrance.

passageway to the erntrance_PB 022
passageway to the erntrance_PB 022, by Freddie

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Comments

Cool find. I've never noticed that cavern. The entrance does look quite Japanese but it is a bit hard to tell for sure. There is a tunnel like this below CHK battery that might have been used for fisherman's storage or something. 

What an interesting find! Is there any evidence that the cave/tunnel was made by the Japanese? I've heard that Chunk Hom Kok had a history of being associated with pirates...? 

Super Typhoon Mangkhut certainly cleared some foliage, heres a link to some footage I took of the headland on which the pillbox sits from my home during the typhoon https://youtu.be/NNin3lvms5E

 

 

This tunnel is probably Japanese, since the walls are very smooth. If it was a pirate cave, then the tunnel's walls would be very rough and there also would be chisel marks on the wall. Hand chisels weren't used by the Japanese to build their tunnels.

I doubt it is a pirate cave. There was a Cheung Po Tsai Cave recorded as being in Stanley, but sealed up sometime in the 50s/60s.

The entrance looks japanese. But the fact that it is just a small cavern right on the shoreside makes it seem like it could be one of the many local fishermans caves. That was the Chung Hom Kok cave I was referring too, there are quite a few you will find along the shoreline of Hong Kong island that appear to just be small caverns dug out that have remanents of fishing gear in them.

Again though, the entrance does look quite Japanese.

Also, Lewis, where are you getting the information that chisels were not used to dig Japanese tunnels? There are a number of Japanese tunnels I have been in that have rough markings across the the walls and while I have not seen a specific reference to 'chisels' it is clear that many of the tunnels were hand dug with forced POW / paid local labor as per this source (refer to the 'tunneling' section). https://www.hkvca.ca/memoriesuninvited/Chapter%208.php

Reference to locals building tunnels in this thread too.... https://gwulo.com/node/12242

So I don't know how you could rule of chisels or hand tools for that matter?

I think there could be another section of tunnel running further deep into the hill right past the small opening.   But there wasn't quite enough clearing to go through when it was filled with mud and water during my last visit.

Hi Freddie

Have you been into this tunnel recently? If you did, is the small opening accessible.

Thanks 

Lewis