According to a travel journal written over 230 years ago by the mainlander Tung T'ien-kung, "Every year before the winter solstice, mullet swim from Changhua and Lukang to Phoenix Mountain County [today's Hengchun], lay their eggs in stony cracks at the sea's foot, and then return north.
二百卅餘年前，唐山客董天工所寫的「台灣見聞錄」上說：「烏魚於冬至前自彰化鹿港至鳳山琅（即今恆春）海腳石罅處放子，仍回北路… …」，算是最早的記載。