One local scholar points out that Meinung has long been a key tobacco growing area: "There was a time when a quarter of Taiwan's tobacco was produced in Meinung. The local economy was built on tobacco. There used to be thousands of tall, Osaka-style tobacco barns throughout the area, with a rectangular cupola on the roof for ventilation.
根據當地文史工作者指出，美濃素有「菸草王國」之譽，「在過去菸草鼎盛時，美濃菸草的產量曾經佔台灣總產量四分之一，菸葉奠定了美濃文化的經濟基礎，屋頂設有斜背通風口的大阪式菸樓，曾經數以千計地高高聳立在美濃各角落，成為美濃極富特色的人文景觀。」