| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 史地學系研究所 === 99 === Since 17th, Taiwan had become the main destination for Han people from the south-eastern coast of Mainland China to leave for. Han people migrated to Taiwan incessantly, breaking ground and building villages. In the process, the harbors along Taiwan’s western shoreline became the gateway to Han people and their cargos. This study would like to take Ponkan as an example and find out how it related to the transition of the coastline, the harbor, the transportation, and the development of the villages.
Ponkan was originally under the sea before 17th century, and then it gradually changed into the liman-type coast. The characteristics of the coastline at Ponkan were divided by the Ponkan River. Prior to the rule of the Ching dynasty, north of the Ponkan River showed the straight sand bank, while south of the river showed the liman-type coast. In the early Ching-ruled Period, the deposition at north of the river turned faster. However, the deposition at south of the river didn’t become faster until the middle Ching-ruled Period. The shoreline wasn’t the same as it is now until the late Ching-ruled Period.
As to the development of the villages, this area was surrounded by three major ethnic communities, including Chu-luo-shan, Siraya, and Favorlangth. Without large villages built here, Han people were provided with a place to settle down and build villages. Besides, since 1630, Ponkan had been used as a transfer point during the Dutch Period and Cheng Chen-kung Period because of the advantages of its position. The superiority of the position was further highlighted with armies stationed. During the Ching-reigned Period, the Han villages further developed due to the deposition of the coastline and the decline of the aboriginals’ power. As a transfer point, Ponkan gradually became the “gateway” to Chu-lo County. It had access to Luerhmen via waterway, and to the middle Taiwan through land route. Moreover, it established the hinterland by the interconnection of the land routes. Therefore, it became the most prosperous commercial harbor in Chu-lo County during the early and middle Ching-ruled Period, and it was even called “the Little Taiwan.” However, the commercial functions of the southern Ponkan declined because of the deposition of the coastline, the uprisings, the social conflicts, and the competition with the other harbors. Northern Ponkan still remained its commercial and trade functions until the late Ching-ruled Period due to the inefficiency of the land transportation. During the Japanese Colonial Period, because of the modernization of the land transportation and the deposition of the coastline, the commercial functions of Ponkan came to the end.
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