大霸尖山位於新竹縣尖石鄉和苗栗縣泰安鄉之間、雪山山脈聖稜線北端,主脊海拔高約3492公尺,圓柱型的山貌、四面都是懸崖且寸草不生,特殊的山形讓大霸尖山擁有台灣『世紀奇峰』的美譽,又因為狀似一個大酒桶,當地居民則稱大霸尖山為『酒桶山』。
由於大霸尖山為泰雅族和賽夏族人信仰中的祖先發祥地聖山,因此登頂行為一直是被禁止的,直到西元1927年日本登山隊完成首度登頂,但據傳從此之後大霸尖山的山壁所滲流出來的泉水就不是如同美酒了;大霸尖山吸引的原因之一就是震懾的地形景觀,硬質砂岩經過風化作用營成的厚實岩錐,這種佇立於水平岩層基部以上的景觀是台灣高山難得一見的景色。
Mt. Ta-pa-chien lies between Hsinchu County’s Chien-shih Township and Miaoli County’s Tai-an Township. It’s on the northern end of the Sheng-ling Ridge of the Hsueh-shan Range, and its main peak has an elevation of 3,492 m. It is roughly cylindrical, so the four sides are sheer cliffs and devoid of vegetation. Because of its unusual shape, it’s nicknamed Taiwan’s “peak of the century,” and because it looks a bit like a covered winejar, local people call it “Winejar Mountain.”
Since Mt. Ta-pa-chien in Atayal and Saisyat belief is sacred, the land of their ancestors, climbing it was long forbidden. It was not until 1927 that a Japanese mountaineering team climbed it for the first time, but it is said that afterward the springwater seeping from its cliffs was not wine-sweet as it was before. One of the reasons Mt. Ta-pa-chien is so alluring is its daunting geography. The hard sandstone has been weathered into thick scree. It’s hard to catch a glimpse of this beautiful place in Taiwan’s high mountains above horizontal rock strata.