The excited archeologists discovered that this trail was part of a lengthy road that traversed the central mountain range from the Chushan area in the west, to Yuli, near Hualien in the east. The total distance the trail covered was 120 kilometers. Known as Pat'ungkung in the native aboriginal dialect, the road was constructed during the reign of the Ching dynasty emperor Kuang Hsu (also known as Teh Tsung, 1875-1908).
這條隱身於海拔三千公尺左右的深山裡、湮沒幾近百年的「八通關古道」，一時聲名大噪，也造成了一股「古道探秘」的熱潮。