sentences:  This coastal town became an important place during Indonesia's colonial period since 1663 when the Dutch, via the Dutch East India Company set-up a trading post in "Pulau Cingkuk" (Cingkuk Island), one of many islands that are located offshore the town, as documented in the "Perjanjian Painan" or 'Painan Treaty'.Through the treaty, the local chiefs of West Coast of Sumatra were also bound themselves to supply pepper and gold to the Dutch.Nowadays, as the capital of South Pesisir regency, this town is the center of economic activities of the regency.