Because the Hakkas generally arrived later than their counterparts from Fujian, says Huang, or because they were outnumbered by the latter, they couldn't hold their own in the rich plains, but had to carve out a niche for themselves in the surrounding foothills, where they engaged in agriculture.
黃子堯以客家先民千年來的遷徙及開墾過程來看，由於客族往往是晚到的「客人」，或者是在人孤勢弱的情況下，只能在平原周圍的山坡丘陵地聚居，以務農為生。