Niuxinshan is located in Chima Village and faces the Penghu inland sea. On old Penghu maps, it was marked as a small island, but existing records describe it as only a seaside hill, a columnar basalt promontory formed by cooling magma and eons of marine abrasion and weathering. Its resemblance to an ox's heart, or niuxin, gave the mountain its name. Today it's considered one of Xiyu's eight scenic wonders.
The foot of Niuxinshan is ringed with camellia, while in the summer Tianren Daisy, or “firewheel”, take bloom, Penghu County’s official flower. Native to central North America, they’re resistant to cold and drought and grow well in hot, dry climates. The Tianren Daisies vary in color––most are a single hue, but there are also two-color mixes, red with yellow borders or pink with white borders, and there are both single and double petaled varieties. Be sure not to miss them on your summer visit to Penghu!
After enjoying the Tianren Daisies, don’t forget to check out Niuxin Bay at the foot of the mountain. There are two beautiful stone-weir fish traps near the marine-abrasion platform, one closer to shore, the other farther out to sea. According to legend, the stone weirs originally belonged to the Xue family of neighboring Nei'an Village. When a Xue daughter married a Chima man, the fish traps were included in her dowry. Although there are no written records of the event, tales of the legendary fish-trap dowry have circulated for over a century!