The question is, was the Botanical Garden culture descended from the Yuanshan, or did external forces allow it to destroy and replace the Yuanshan? Taiwan's archaeological community has long been vexed by questions about the nature of the relationship between these two cultures.
然而，兩者是連續性的傳承關係，抑或是受外來力量引動的取代關係？（亦即後起的植物園文化滅絕、取代了原先的圓山文化）成了長期困擾台灣考古學界的議題。