Engelbert Kaempfer
The geographical position of Shimonoseki has given it historical importance. The Heike and Genji fought at Dan-no-ura near the present Kanmon Bridge. In February 1691, German explorer Engelbert Kaempfer visited the town as part of his two-year stay in Japan, and described it has having around 400 to 500 houses, and as a major port in the region for supplying ship provisions. The Bombardment of Shimonoseki occurred in 1864, and the Treaty of Shimonoseki was signed there in 1895, seeing a defeated China hand over Taiwan, Penghu, and Port Arthur to the victorious Japanese.