Shipwrecks were common around Cape Eluanbi in the early modern era owing to the nearby Qixingyan reefs and strong currents . The hostile native reactions to these accidents rose to the level of international incidents in the case of the '' Rover '' and a Ryukyu convoy , which prompted invasions from the United States and Japan in 1867 and 1874 . In the latter case , the Qing Dynasty explicitly disavowed responsibility for native-held areas on Taiwan Island , creating a power vacuum that threatened Japanese or European colonization of the region . Following the advice of Charles Le Gendre , the American consul at Xiamen ( then known as " Amoy " ) , the Viceroy of Liangjiang , Shen Baozhen , began constructing coastal defenses to improve the situation
Ryukyu convoy
Mudan incident
Eluanbi Lighthouse