In the Philippines, the Ivatan people of the Batanes Islands built ijang—fortified villages on top of natural hills and raised landforms near the coastlines. These were terraced into defensive ramparts with limited access points. Artifacts recovered from an ijang on the town of Savidug in Sabtang has been dated to around 1200 CE. These high rocky formations served as a refuge against attacking enemies. Ijang were first described by the English freebooter Captain William Dampier when he visited the island of Ivuhos in 1687. During the Spanish colonial era, ijang were abandoned during the Reducciones'' as the Ivatan population were moved into centralized towns in the lowlands., p.18.
In the Philippines, the Ivatan people of the Batanes Islands built ijang—fortified villages on top of natural hills and raised landforms near the coastlines. These were terraced into defensive ramparts with limited access points. Artifacts recovered from an ijang on the town of Savidug in Sabtang has been dated to around 1200 CE. These high rocky formations served as a refuge against attacking enemies. Ijang were first described by the English freebooter Captain William Dampier when he visited the island of Ivuhos in 1687. During the Spanish colonial era, ijang were abandoned during .the Reducciones'' as the Ivatan population were moved into centralized towns in the lowlands., p.18