Huanshan Hamlet is located in Heping District of Taichung City, at the 61km point on the Provincial Highway 7A and is about 1,600 meters above sea level. The hamlet was established in 1913, when a group of Atayal people migrated here from the Mashitobaon community (マシトバオン社) in Ren’ai Township, Nantou County. The hamlet got its name from its geological location. As it is surrounded by high mountains such as Nanhu Mountains and Xueshan range, the name “Huanshan” means surrounded by mountains. Its previous name was Shikayau community (シカヤウ社).
During the Japanese occupation, the Governor-General in Taiwan planned to relocate the people from Huanshan hamlet closer to the flat land for the sake of management. However, this plan had failed and so they began to plant non-tropical fruit trees. This continued on into the post-war period. To this day, tribal people still use high-mountain agriculture as a business, but are greatly affected by import competition and traffic interruption.