The Atayal were once the most fearsome people of the mountains, occupying lands stretching from Jenai Rural Township in Nantou and Chohsi Rural Township in Hualien north through the central mountain range to the slopes of Snow Mountain. They lived at elevations between 600 and 2000 meters, and engaged in slash-and-burn farming and hunting.
泰雅族曾是台灣山岳中最剽悍的一支民族，他們生活空間涵蓋南投縣仁愛鄉及花蓮縣卓溪鄉以北的中央山脈及雪山山脈、海拔六百至二千公尺的廣大山區，過著以刀耕火獵為主的生活。