By the late Ming, the country was weakened, and seafaring pirates arose. Kinmen became an even more strategic military site as the guardian of the ocean route from the Southern Min territories in Fujian.
明代後期國力衰弱，海上盜賊叛將蜂起，可以扼守閩南出海通衢的金門，更成為兵家必爭之地。