Hon Ba Island sits beside Con Dao’s main island, separated only by a narrow waterway called Hong Dam. Together with the large island, it forms Ben Dam Bay, a deep and sheltered bay ideal for a natural harbor. Hon Ba covers an area of over 5 km², and at its summit stands a tall upright rock resembling a woman carrying a child. Many believe this likeness inspired the name “Hon Ba” (Lady Island).
Another explanation suggests that the name might have originated from the place names Ben Dam and Hong Dam, where the French word dame means “lady.”
However, the people of Con Dao preserve a more poignant origin story—the legend of Lady Phi Yen. According to this tale, Lady Phi Yen, whose real name was Nguyen Thi Ram, was a concubine of Lord Nguyen Anh (later Emperor Gia Long). When she learned that Nguyen Anh intended to send their son, Prince Cai, as a hostage to seek French military support against the Tay Son dynasty, she offered heartfelt counsel:
“If you must wage war against the Tay Son, gather your own soldiers here in our land. Dependence on foreign forces may bring victory, but it would not be honorable, and I fear it will bring troubles later.”
Her opposition enraged Nguyen Anh, who accused her of conspiring with the Tay Son. Thanks to the intervention of loyal courtiers, she avoided execution but was imprisoned in a mountain cave on the small island—now known as Hon Ba.
As fate would have it, the Tay Son army soon advanced. Nguyen Anh fled hurriedly by sea with his entourage. Prince Cai, not finding his mother, cried inconsolably. In a moment of fury and suspicion, Nguyen Anh deemed the boy “disloyal” and ordered that the innocent child be thrown into the sea. His body drifted to Co Ong, where the villagers recovered it, buried him with respect, and later built a shrine known as Mieu Cau.
When the people of Co Ong learned what had happened, they crossed to Hon Ba to rescue and care for Lady Phi Yen. Over time, her story became deeply rooted in the spiritual life of Con Dao’s residents. Today, the legend of Lady Phi Yen and Prince Cai remains one of the island’s most moving and enduring tales—an inseparable part of the island’s cultural identity.
