Fort Canning Park - Once forbidden hill, fortress, spice and romantic garden
Fort Canning Hill is one of Singapore’s most historic landmarks. It was originally a cone-shaped mound that stood at a height of 48 metres above sea level. It was very likely that in the 14th century, the royal palace of ancient Malay rulers stood on the summit of this once “Forbidden Hill”. The memory of this was still alive that when the British arrived in 1819, the Malays refused to climb the hill, known as Bukit Larangan in Malay, saying that it was forbidden without the permission of the ancient rulers. In Southeast Asian cultures, hills and mountains were associated with supernatural and divine powers. Major General William Farquhar, the first resident and commandant of Singapore ascended the hill with the Malaccan Malays in 1819, since the locals were unwilling to climb, and atop the hill he fired a salute and erected a pole from which the Union Jack was flown. The hill was renamed Government Hill. One of the largest ruins discovered by the British was a keramat, or shrine, whic