Members of two aborigine tribes in the park's area, the Bunun and Tsou, still live much as they always have, with men doing the hunting and women the farming.
後來兩族發生戰爭，曹族不幸戰敗，再加上一場疾病流行，使曹族人口大減，以至最後均為布農族同化。目前玉山地區的主要居民為布農族。他們的基本生活方式是農耕，並由女人主耕，男人則專事狩獵，仍然維持高山生活的傳統。