Large-scale clearing and cultivation of the area really started, though, with the Japanese occupation. In 1899 the Japanese company Kagata established a presence in the areas now known as Hsincheng and Shoufeng, with the intent of working in the sugar and camphor industries, but their efforts were frustrated by a number of factors, including the weather.
花東地區真正大規模的開墾，始於日據時代。1899 年，日本企業「賀田組」進入新城、壽豐一帶從事糖與樟腦事業經營，卻因天氣等原因鎩羽而歸。