While recent industrial development in other areas of Taiwan have decreased the area's importance to the island economy, the small city which grew up on the fertile riverside plains was for many years a vital economic center.
此地後來被番人稱作「三角蠋」（意即三角洲），這是三峽最早的名字。根據記載，早在明代初年，就有漢人鄭中貴發現了這個地方，可惜這位迢迢而來的拓荒者，卻因目睹平原西方鳶山的詭怪而卻步。