View of Victoria Harbour from Devil's Peak

Devil's Peak ( ) is a

peak Peak or The Peak may refer to: Basic meanings Geology * Mountain peak ** Pyramidal peak, a mountaintop that has been sculpted by erosion to form a point Mathematics * Peak hour or rush hour, in traffic congestion * Peak (geometry), an (''n''-3)-di ...

Sai Kung District Sai Kung District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. The district comprises the southern half of the Sai Kung Peninsula, the Clear Water Bay Peninsula in the New Territories and a strip of lan ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The communities of

Tiu Keng Leng Tiu Keng Leng (), formerly Rennie's Mill, is an area of Hong Kong in the Sai Kung District adjacent to Tseung Kwan O (Junk Bay). The area used to be a refugee village housing former Kuomintang officials and followers who escaped to Hong Kong f ...

Lei Yue Mun Lei Yue Mun is a short channel in Hong Kong. It lies between Junk Bay and Victoria Harbour, separating Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. The channel is an important passage for the city, forming the eastern entrance of Victoria Harbour. The lands ...

and

Yau Tong Yau Tong () is an area of Hong Kong, located in the southeastern end of Kowloon, between Lei Yue Mun and Lam Tin, at the east shore of Victoria Harbour, west of Tseung Kwan O. Administratively, it is part of Kwun Tong District, the most densely ...

surround this peak. The area around the peak was garrisoned by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the 20th century and prior to that, by local pirates in the 19th century to control the passage of Lei Yue Mun, an important nautical passage that leads to

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

Geography

Devil's Peak stands at 222 metres in height. To the east of the peak lies

Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery Tseung Kwan O Chinese Permanent Cemetery (), also referred to as Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery is a cemetery in Tiu Keng Leng (Rennie's Mill), Hong Kong. It is managed by The Board of Management of the Chinese Permanent Cemeteries ().

and

lies to its west. The hill extends its ridge south to water in

and north to another peak called

Chiu Keng Wan Shan Chiu Keng Wan Shan () is a hill that lies between the communities of Yau Tong and Tiu Keng Leng, Hong Kong. Geography Chiu Keng Wan Shan is 247m in height. To the south lies another hill called Devil's Peak. Junk Bay Chinese Permanent Cemetery ...

. Section 3 of The

Wilson Trail The Wilson Trail () is a long-distance footpath in Hong Kong, 63 km of which runs through Hong Kong country parks.Yau Tong Yau Tong () is an area of Hong Kong, located in the southeastern end of Kowloon, between Lei Yue Mun and Lam Tin, at the east shore of Victoria Harbour, west of Tseung Kwan O. Administratively, it is part of Kwun Tong District, the most densely ...

via cemetery roads.

Military history

The major parts of the military sites on Devil's Peak were built between 1900 and 1914. The remnants of a redoubt and batteries are still visible on the peak. The four main clusters of military structures that remain are: * Devil's Peak Redoubt, which stands on the summit at a level of 222m. It was built in 1914. * A small site at 196m * Gough Battery - upper battery at 160m, was built in 1898 with 2 6-inch guns; one later replaced by 9.2-inch guns; guns removed in 1936 to

Stanley Fort Stanley Fort is a military installation on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Built originally to serve the British Armed Forces, it now houses the Hong Kong garrison of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Ground Force. It has also been use ...

; likely named for former Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in China

Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough Field Marshal Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, (3 November 1779 – 2 March 1869) was an Irish officer of the British Army. After serving as a junior officer at the seizure of the Cape of Good Hope during the French Revolutionary Wars, Gough com ...

* Pottinger Battery - lower battery at 81m, with 9.2-inch guns; guns removed in 1936 to Bokhara Battery,

Cape D'Aguilar Cape D'Aguilar () is a cape on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. The cape is on the southeastern end of D'Aguilar Peninsula. To its north are Shek O and D'Aguilar Peak. Name It is named after Major-General George Charles d'Aguilar. Geograp ...

; named for Governor

Sir Henry Pottinger Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Pottinger, 1st Baronet (; 3 October 1789 – 18 March 1856) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and colonial administrator who became the first Governor of Hong Kong. Early life Henry Pottinger was born at his family est ...

A list of troops whom were stationed here (mainly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

): * 5/7

Rajput Regiment The Rajput Regiment is one of the oldest infantry regiments of the Indian Army, tracing its origins back to 1778 with the raising of the 24th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry. The 1st battalion of the regiment was formed in 1798. After Worl ...

* 1st Mountain Battery of the Hong Kong Singapore Battalion of the Royal Artillery

Geography

Military history

See also