Unveiled in 1948 by Sir Edward Gent, the High Commissioner of the Federation of Malaya, the monument was built to commemorate the thousands of Chinese residents in Melaka who were massacred by the Japanese Imperial Army during the occupation in World War II (1942–1945). Following the war's end, the local Chinese community meticulously collected the remains of victims from various execution sites and mass graves throughout the state. These remains were brought to the foot of Bukit Cina for a collective and final interment. The monument stands not only as a burial site but as a powerful symbol of the bravery and resistance of the overseas Chinese community against foreign aggression, ensuring that the heavy toll paid during the "horror of war" is never forgotten by future generations.