In 1871, Aborigines killed 54 Okinawan sailors at Payao Bay, Hengchun. The Japanese took this as a pretext for an armed incursion into Taiwan: using Le Gendre's map, they sent in 3,000 troops to invade the Ssuchung River area of Pingtung. But after three months the area had not yet been taken and there had been more than 50 battle casualties, with another 500 soldiers dying of fever.
1871 年琉球船員遇難漂到恆春八瑤灣，被原住民殺了 54 人；1874 年日本以此為藉口出兵台灣，用上李仙得的地圖，派了 3000 大軍進攻屏東四重溪，3 個月還攻不下來，死了 50 多人，另有 500 人因熱病病死，即為台灣史上著名的「牡丹社事件」。