Because Kaohsiung harbor has a huge capacity, and is a pivotal spot for routes to southeast Asia, in the Japanese occupation era the authorities made it a concentration point for heavy industry and petroleum refining. After the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, Japan used Kaohsiung as a base for advancing southward, and established many military facilities there.
由於高雄港吞吐量大，又居通往東南亞各國的樞紐，從日據時期，日本政府的許多重工業、鐵工廠和煉油廠就都以高雄為集散區，太平洋戰爭爆發後，日本更計畫以高雄港做為南進基地，廣佈軍事設施，高雄地區因此一直保有工業與軍事重鎮的濃厚色彩。