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Dapeng Bay was historically known as “Bieh-hsing Harbor,” “Chia-teng Harbor,” “Kuan-ti Harbor,” and “Nan-p’ing Harbor.” During the Japanese colonial period it was called “Ō-buchi.” It served as a military base for the Japanese army’s invasion of Southeast Asia in World War II. After the National Government relocated to Taiwan and took control in 1949, the name was changed to “Dapeng Bay.” Formed by silt carried downstream by the Lin-pien and Tung-kang Rivers and then deposited by ocean currents and monsoon winds into a sandspit, the bay encloses a single-mouth, pocket-shaped lagoon covering 532 hectares—the largest of its kind in Taiwan. To preserve this unique natural landscape, the “Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Headquarters” was established in 1997 as the fourth national-level scenic area under the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. In 2000, the “Hsiao-liu-chiu Scenic Area” was incorporated into the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area to meet tourism-development needs. Key recreational sites include the Heng-chun Peninsula Tourist Service Center, Ching-chou Coastal Recreation Area, Dapeng Bay Marine Leisure Zone, and the Bay-circuit Bikeway. Taking a yacht cruise around the bay offers views of the mangrove ecosystem and a visit to “Oyster-shell Island” to learn about the traditional oyster-farming heritage of the bay. Future plans call for a racetrack, international resort hotel, themed tourist district, golf course, and marina, transforming Dapeng Bay into a “world-class water-based leisure and vacation destination.”