Local residents started building distinctive huo fang houses, clan-based communal residences that often grew into miniature communities in their own right. Starting along the Minung River, the Hakka community gradually opened up virgin land further northward, advancing one field at a time. Local residents valued learning, and there were many noted scholars in the area. The Yung-an district effectively provides a three-dimensional chronicle of the 260-plus years of Hakka life in Meinung.
庄內夥房依瀰濃溪次第興築，向北拓墾成一畦畦的田地，而「文魁」舉人宅地亦比鄰相連，這樣一個老聚落，凝結了二百六十多年來客家先民遷至美濃的歷史縮影。