When the first Hakka settlers arrived from south China the natural environment was quite forbidding. Not only did the people have to contend with wild animals, they also had problems with the native hill people because the new settlers were encrouching on their traditional hunting grounds.
當年美濃祖先初至此地墾荒時，總會碰到剽悍兇蠻、動輒殺人的山胞，一不小心便性命難保；此外，出沒不定的山豬野獸，也令人膽戰心驚。