How did the idea of such a long underground tunnel become implanted in the minds of the locals? It may have arisen when the locals saw a hole in the ground within the fort on St. John’s Hill, which has since been covered up. Residents must have thought that the hole was a secret route that connected the fort for troops to get there and back. There did exist a hole within the fort on St. John’s Hill. There is a saying that the hole was used as a place of storage of gunpowder by the Dutch.
Here is another interesting story that was reported to have happened in Melaka around the 1900s. After some rubbles were cleared inside the old gateway at St. Paul’s Hill, it was discovered that there was a hole, which local assumed is the entrance to the tunnel.
The authorities decided to release two wild boars into the unknown abyss, since they thought sending men into the tunnel would be too risky. Due to wild boar’s high survival skill, they decided to make use of it. Two hours later, it was reported that the boars were seen to emerge on the slopes of St. John’s Hill, which is exactly one mile (1.6KM) away from the old gateway (St. Paul’s Hill). Therefore, it was concluded that there must be an underground tunnel that connected the two ancient hills. It was further deduced that the tunnel between the two forts must have been for strategic purposes.