According to China Times reporter and local archivist Pan Kuo-cheng, "Hsinchu people have a very strong sense of 'city,' and although the walls were demolished during the Japanese colonial period, their outline can still be faintly discerned to this day." This sense of recall means that Hsinchu people still consider East Gate the center and the symbol of their city, even though the main business districts are now elsewhere.
「新竹人對『城』的觀念很深刻，雖然城牆在日據時期拆除了，可是現在的市區還是隱隱然可見當時輪廓」，中國時報記者、也是新竹地方文史工作者潘國正表示，這種城市記憶使得新竹雖然在別處發展出新商圈，但是新竹人仍以東門城為都市中心，將之當作城市的標誌。