Its Chinese name literally means "government creek", which was named for the pre-19th century presence of Imperial China's military in defence against pirates and foreigners. Since Hong Kong was sparsely populated during the time, this referenced name may have superseded any local name. In early British maps, Kwun Chung was a river valley north of a series of hills called Napiers Range with a namesake village and cultivation. The valley extended from the shore to the middle of the
Kowloon Peninsula. In the middle of the valley was a hill where two rivers ran west to the sea.
Kwun Chung Fort The area between
Austin Road and
Jordan Road was originally used as a
fortification by the
military of the Qing dynasty during the 19th century. In 1839,
Qing official
Lin Zexu ordered the construction of a fortification in the area to defend against possible
British attacks. When the
First Opium War broke out, the fortification, along with another fort in
Tsim Sha Tsui, saw action against British forces during the
Battle of Kowloon. On 4 November 1839, British troops engaged in repeated attacks in the Battle of Kwun Chung. Lin Zexu fought back head-on, winning six skirmishes over the next 10 days. The fort, along with the hill it was based on, were both demolished for development during the early period of British rule in Kowloon; the rock and sand leftover from the demolition were used for
land reclamation in the area situated northwest of Jordan Road. Due to its strategic position, the
British garrison in Hong Kong chose the hill south of Austin Road to build the
Whitfield Barracks and
Kowloon West II Battery.
Battery Street was probably named after it. ==Demography==