Deciding that it had no economic value, the Japanese cordoned it off as an area for research of primitive society, and prohibited immigration from the main island.
在日據時期，日本當局曾派員前往蘭嶼視察，認為此地沒有開發價值，將它列為原始社會研究地區，嚴禁外人移入，蘭嶼遂一直保持它原始的面貌。