Cape Crillon (Russian: Мыс Крильон, Japanese: 西能登呂岬 "Nishinotoro-misaki" (Cape Nishinotoro in Japanese), 45°54′N 142°05′E / 45.900°N 142.083°E) is the southernmost point of Sakhalin. The cape was named by Frenchman Jean-François de La Pérouse, who was the first European to discover it. Cape Sōya, in Japan, is located 43 kilometres (27 mi) to the south, across La Pérouse Strait.
A Russian weather station, a lighthouse and a military base are all situated at Cape Crillon today. Additionally, the cape is the Russian terminus of the proposed Sakhalin–Hokkaido Tunnel that would connect Japan and Russia by rail.
On the western coast of the cape is the rock formation formerly known in Japanese as Kinfugan (金敷岩, literally "Anvil Rock").
In 1808, Mamiya Rinzō was dispatched by the Tokugawa shogunate to survey Sakhalin. Having arrived at the Matsumae domain outpost of Shiranushi on the southern tip of Cape Crillon, he was directed by local Ainu to a place called Kogohau (コゞハウ) where the remains of rammed earth walls were found.[1]
By the early 20th century, the ruins had come to be known as the Shiranushi Earthen Castle (白主土城, Shiranushi dojō). In 1905, there were discovered Matsumae documents to the effect that the castle had been built by Imai Kanehira.[2]
Current archaeological evidence indicates the castle was a colonial product of the Yuan dynasty. According to the Yuanshi, the general Yorotai (楊兀魯帶) crossed the sea and established frontier garrisons on Sakhalin.[3]