Taitung Prefecture was a division of Taiwan Province, which was created after 1887 during Qing rule.[1] The prefecture's seat of government, originally at Tsui-be (水尾; modern-day Ruisui, Hualien), was moved to Pi-lam (卑南; modern-day Taitung City) in 1888.[2] Plan to establish the sub-prefectures of Pi-lam (Chinese: 卑南) and Hoe-lian-kang (Chinese: 花蓮港) was aborted.
In 1895, with the Treaty of Shimonoseki and the successful Japanese invasion of Taiwan, the prefecture was reorganized as Taitō Chō in 1897 under Japanese rule.
. Davidson . James W. . James W. Davidson . The Island of Formosa, Past and Present : history, people, resources, and commercial prospects : tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions . 1903 . Macmillan & co. . London and New York . 6931635M . 244 .
. Sketches from Formosa . 1915 . William Campbell (missionary) . Marshall Brothers . London . 7051071M . 278 . The eastern prefecture of TAI-TANG, made up of the two sub-prefectures of Pi-lam and Hoe-lian-kang, with head-quarters at the middle-eastern centre called Tsui-be..