Johor - Mount Ophir

According to local anecdote, Tangkak was explored by seven siblings from Riau Islands. This expedition group led by Lang Mahmud was sailing to Muar with a small boat, then sailed along Sungai Kesang to enter Tangkak river. Due to areas surronding the river is a swamp land, they had to crawl slowly to cross the swamp. They finally reached the Bukit Tambak high ground and settled down there. The name of Tangkak is believed to be coined from “Merangkak” (crawl). Another version is according to legend, Tangkak was explored by eight Javanese led by Haji Yusof and Minister “Arkah”. They were forced to bending their bodies during the clearing work on swamp land to avoid being scratched by thorny branches. The name of Tangkak is said a morph of Javanese word “berangkak”. In a 1853’s written document says Tangkak was occupied by Malay people. A Malacca police officer named T. Bradell on his way to Mount Orphir (Gunung Ledang) had encountered a group of 15 Malays who were carrying seven sacks of rice to be sold to Chinese miners. These farmers are supposedly originated from Tangkak.