Long Ya Men

It was marked in the Mao Kun navigational map historical maritime annal Wubei Zhi said to date from the voyages of Ming dynasty's Admiral Zheng He.

Long Ya Men in the map was also used to refer to the strait between Sentosa island and Labrador Point, and named after a pinnacle of stone that was called Batu Berlayar, which means "Sail Rock" in Malay.

[4] The Long Ya Men's unique features was said to have assisted Zheng He in navigating the waters around Singapore during his seven maritime voyages to the west between 1405 and 1433 AD.

Historically the rocky outcrop was known locally by the Malays in earlier times as "Batu Berlayar" ("Sailing Rock") near the present site of Labrador Park, off Pasir Panjang Road.

Another name Ling Ya Men (Chinese: 凌牙門; pinyin: Líng Yá Mén) is recorded in the Song dynasty work Zhu Fan Zhi, however it is usually considered to be a different place.

[12] In the 17th century, the passageway was abandoned in favour of the wider and more open Main Straits, that lies south of Pulau Satamu, where Raffles Lighthouse stands today.

[5] Sir Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company did not know of the "Lot's Wife", or the deep water harbour it led to when he landed in Singapore in January 1819.

The authorities hope the symbolic replica can serve to preserve the memory of Long Ya Men, which is an important part of Singapore's maritime history, for future generations and visitors familiar with the historical voyages of Zheng He.

Significantly the instructions from Shun Feng Xiang Song and Dong Xi Yang Kao referred to a Temasek Gate (淡馬錫門) by which vessels passed no matter if they were sailing in and out of Longyamen from Karimun or Pedra Branca.

Wang Dayuan's actual words were that "[Longyamen] is intersected with two mountains belonging to the Temasek natives, akin to a dragon teeth-like formation, with a water channel running through the middle”.