Nearly 100 years ago, a Japanese visitor, Dr. Kawa, was camping in the forest and observed the thousand-year-old trees as the moon slowly climbed in the sky. He gave the place the poetic name Mienyueh, which means "sleeping moon."
近百年前，河合博士在探勘阿里山巨木群時，有一回在森林野宿，看見千年巨木林中，一輪明月緩緩爬上中天，彷彿置身世外桃源，於是有了「眠月」這樣詩意的地名。