Sentence:  ... the enclosure in which Bulan resided lay on a <WSD>landward</WSD> slope a quarter of a mile from the shore, and so divided from it by lofty trees, that, unless when the inhabitants sought the coast for fishing, they took little heed of what was passing at sea. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Located, facing or moving in the direction of the land, as opposed to the sea.