The year 1958, in which work on the Shihmen Reservoir began, was also the year of the August 23rd Bombardment of Kinmen. Menaced by the communist mainland and with international support uncertain, the ROC also faced such factors as an unprecedented rise in the demand for electricity.
民國四十七年，「八二三砲戰」同年，在中共威脅、國際態度搖擺不定，加上電力需求孔急等因素下，石門水庫動工。