But when development of the sugar industry began in the Japanese occupation era (1895-1945), dikes were built to reclaim riverbed bottomland to plant sugarcane. Since then, the 20-kilometer route that the Linbian River takes from the mountains to the sea has been completely encased in dikes, leaving a riverbed averaging only 200 meters in width. The river's frequent overflows over the dikes seem to be its way of protesting.
但從日據時代開發糖業以來，便開始修築河堤以爭取在河灘地上種甘蔗，從此，林邊溪從出山區一直到入海，僅僅 20 公里水路，已全面被河堤包圍，平均河道寬度約只有 200 公尺，林邊溪年年氾濫，似乎也說明著她的不滿與抗議。