For local residents, the Pine Garden’s historical purpose as a military base means that, from young, children were cautioned by their parents to stay away. Adding to that, innumerable stories of suicides of commanding officers and Kamikaze units, and old dilapidated buildings set against a backdrop of thick pine tree grove, earn it the name of “ghost town”. In fact, for many years running, the Pine Garden has always made it to the list of top haunted houses in Taiwan voted by the public.

To change the public’s perception of the Pine Garden as an eerie place, a pond with flowing water for the purpose of ritual purification as seen in Japanese shrines was included in the restoration plan. However, people started tossing coins in the pond to make their wishes before it was completed. It was then decided that the pond be turned into a “wishing pond”, following the local custom. The task of building the wishing pond was entrusted to well-known stone sculptor – Mr. Tsai Wen-ching, who completed it in 2003.