There were very few people living on the east coast, which was overgrown and disease-ridden. The policy of settlement and cultivation thus did not enjoy great success. Soon the Qing government abolished the incentives and the Patungkuan Trail, built amidst such suffering and hardship, fell into complete ruin within 20 years.
可惜的是，深山道路崎嶇，東岸人煙稀少、叢莽瘴氣，移墾政策成效始終不彰，不久清政府就廢除獎勵措施，千辛萬苦開鑿的八通關古道，在二十年間竟完全荒廢。