The wetlands are of international importance. Over 300 years ago the wetlands of today were Beishanwei and Nanshan at the southern end of the Sicao Inland Sea. In the floods that followed a storm in 1823 Zengwen River changed course and the large amount of sediment washed down from upstream accumulated and created new land in Taijiang Inland Sea, also splitting the sea into three saltwater lagoons: Kunshen, Sicao and Cigu lagoons.