The written history of Kaohsiung can be traced back to the early 17th century, through archaeological studies have found signs of human activity in the region from as long as 7,000 years ago. Prior to the 17th century, the region was inhabited by the
Makatao people of the
Siraya tribe, who settled on what they named Takau Isle (translated to 打狗嶼 by Ming Chinese explorers); "Takau" meaning "bamboo forest" in the aboriginal language.
Early history The earliest evidence of human activity in the Kaohsiung area dates back to roughly 4,700–5,200 years ago. Most of the discovered remnants were located in the hills surrounding
Kaohsiung Harbor. Artifacts were found at
Shoushan, Longquan Temple, Taoziyuan,
Zuoying, Houjing, Fudingjin and
Fengbitou. The prehistoric
Dapenkeng,
Niuchouzi,
Dahu, and
Niaosong civilizations were known to inhabit the region. Studies of the prehistoric ruins at Longquan Temple have shown that that civilization occurred at roughly the same times as the beginnings of the aboriginal
Makatao civilization, suggesting a possible origin for the latter. Unlike some other archaeological sites in the area, the Longquan Temple ruins are relatively well preserved. Prehistoric artifacts discovered have suggested that the ancient Kaohsiung Harbor was originally a lagoon, with early civilizations functioning primarily as
Hunter-gatherer societies. Some
agricultural tools have also been discovered, suggesting that some agricultural activity was also present. The pronunciation of Kaohsiung (Takao) in Japanese is similar to Takau (Takau), so the local flavor of Takao was renamed Kaohsiung. The first Chinese records of the region were written in 1603 by
Chen Di, a member of
Ming admiral Shen You-rong's expedition to rid the waters around Taiwan and
Penghu of pirates. In his report on the "Eastern Barbarian Lands" (Dong Fan Ji), Chen Di referred to a Ta-kau Isle:
Dutch Formosa Taiwan became a
Dutch colony in 1624, after the
Dutch East India Company was ejected from
Penghu by
Ming forces. At the time, Takau was already one of the most important fishing ports in southern Taiwan. The Dutch named the place
Tankoya, and the harbor
Tancoia. The Dutch missionary
François Valentijn named Takau Mountain "Ape Berg", a name that would find its way onto European navigational charts well into the 18th century.
Tankoia was located north of Ape's Hill and a few hours south from Tayouan (modern-day
Anping, Tainan) by sail. At the time, a wide shallow bay existed there, sufficient for small vessels. However, constant
silting changed the coastline. During this time, Taiwan was divided into five administrative districts, with Takau belonging to the southernmost district. In 1630, the first large scale immigration of
Han Chinese to Taiwan began due to famine in
Fujian, with merchants and traders from China seeking to purchase hunting licenses from the Dutch or hide out in aboriginal villages to escape authorities in China. )
Qing dynasty In 1684, the
Qing dynasty annexed
Taiwan and renamed the town Fongshan County (), considering it a part of
Taiwan Prefecture. It was first opened as a port during the 1680s and subsequently prospered fairly for generations.
Japanese rule , built during Japanese rule of Taiwan In 1895, Taiwan was ceded to
Japan as part of the
Treaty of Shimonoseki. Administrative control of the city was moved from New Fongshan Castle to the Fongshan Sub-District of . In November 1901, twenty
chō were established in total; was established nearby. In 1909, Hōzan Chō was abolished, and Takow was merged into Tainan Chō. In 1920, during the tenure of 8th Governor-General
Den Kenjirō, districts were abolished in favor of prefectures. Thus the city was administered as under
Takao Prefecture. The Japanese developed Takao, especially the harbor that became the foundation of Kaohsiung to be a port city. Takao was then systematically modernized and connected to the end of
North-South Railway. Forming a north–south regional economic corridor from Taipei to Kaohsiung in the 1930s, Japan's Southward Policy set Kaohsiung to become an industrial center.
Kaohsiung Harbor was also developed starting from 1894. The city center was relocated several times during the period due to the government's development strategy. Development was initially centered on
Ki-au () region but the government began laying railways, upgrading the harbor, and passing new urban plans. New industries such as refinery, machinery, shipbuilding and cementing were also introduced. Before and during
World War II it handled a growing share of Taiwan's agricultural exports to Japan, and was also a major base for Japan's campaigns in Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Extremely ambitious plans for the construction of a massive modern port were drawn up. Toward the end of the war, the Japanese promoted some industrial development at Kaohsiung, establishing an aluminum industry based on the abundant
hydroelectric power produced by the
Sun Moon Lake project in the mountains. The city was heavily bombed by
Task Force 38 and
FEAF during World War II between 1944 and 1945.
Republic of China After control of Taiwan was
handed over from Japan to the government of the
Republic of China on 25 October 1945, Kaohsiung City and
Kaohsiung County were established as a
provincial city and a
county of
Taiwan Province respectively on 25 December 1945. The official romanization of the name came to be "Kaohsiung", based on the
Wade–Giles romanization of the
Mandarin reading of the
kanji name. Kaohsiung City then consisted of 10
districts, which were
Gushan,
Lianya (renamed "Lingya" in 1952),
Nanzih,
Cianjin,
Cianjhen,
Cijin,
Sanmin,
Sinsing,
Yancheng, and
Zuoying. During this time, Kaohsiung developed rapidly. The port, badly damaged in
World War II, was restored. It also became a fishing port for boats sailing to Filipino and Indonesian waters. Largely because of its climate, Kaohsiung overtook
Keelung as Taiwan's major port. Kaohsiung also surpassed Tainan to become the second largest city of Taiwan in the late 1970s and Kaohsiung City was upgraded from a
provincial city to
special municipality on 1 July 1979, by the
Executive Yuan with a total of 11 districts. The additional district is
Siaogang District, which was annexed from Siaogang Township of
Kaohsiung County. The
Kaohsiung Incident, where the government suppressed a commemoration of International
Human Rights Day, occurred on 10 December 1979. Since then, Kaohsiung gradually grew into a political center of the
Pan-Green population of Taiwan, in opposition to
Taipei where the majority population is
Kuomintang supporters. On 25 December 2010, Kaohsiung City merged with
Kaohsiung County to form a larger
special municipality with administrative centers in
Lingya District and
Fongshan District. On 31 July 2014, a series of
gas explosions occurred in the
Cianjhen and
Lingya Districts of the city, killing 31 and injuring more than 300. Five roads were destroyed in an area of nearly near the city center. It was the largest gas explosion in Taiwan's modern history. ==Geography==