Taijiang National ParkTaijiang National Park

The Pingpu aborigine tribe lived in Tainan Plain area. The tribe, Siraya, mainly lived in Tainan area; while another sub-tribe of Siraya, Dawelong tribe, lived in the midstream area of Zengwen River about 300-400 years ago. Xiaolong, Madou, Xingang and Wanli were major Pingpu tribes.

As one of the earliest places Han people settled in Taiwan, and on the navigation route that many settlers took when they migrated to Taiwan,the Taijiang area has rich maritime history and culture. Most of the Settlers arriving in Taiwan came from Fujian and Guangdong in China across the Taiwan Strait. The people relied on the sea for their livelehoods, fishing, salt producing, fish farming or selling foreign products.

In 1661 Zheng Cheng-gong led his forces when they landed at Luermen and Houliao Harbor, taking over Fort Provintia from the Dutch defenders by surprise. After nine months of hard fighting the Dutch were defeated and were forced to leave Taiwan. Chengtian Prefecture was established and Tainan made “Eastern capital.” The settlers and soldiers who came with Zheng settled in the area and, over time, a number of Han settlements developed. Quite a few villages and communities in Tainan County today were established at the time