Representing the landscape of Yushan National Park

•Representations and territorial expressions ascribed to Yushan were examined.•Informants were more likely to be discordant in their representations of Yushan.•Territorial expressions were evident among informants.•Conflicting representations and territorial expressions hindered collaboration.

Our study examined the representations of Yushan National Park from the perspectives of two tourism stakeholders, including an indigenous local community and the national park service. Social representations theory was applied to explore competing claims for a legitimate version of the park by each group. Additionally, the concept of territoriality was adopted to examine territorial expressions associated with the park and places therein. Sixteen community and twelve park service informants were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. Both groups were found to converge in certain representations they ascribed to Yushan. More frequently, they were discordant in what consisted of its ideal image. Territorial strategies were employed by some informants to defend their ideal representation. Implications for collaborative partnerships are discussed.