Like many other places in Taiwan, Tungkang was established when the Ming dynasty patriot Koxinga fled to Taiwan to escape from the rule of the Manchu.
在三百多年前，東港原為平埔番人所居，稱為放索社。到鄭成功來台時，一些漢人才從東港登陸，他們和平埔番經過一場激戰後得以居住在此，並開始經營漁業，漁村的雛型從此建立。