When the first wave of Han Chinese immigration to Taiwan began 400 years ago, several tribes of aboriginal peoples already inhabited various parts of the island. According to anthropological and archeological studies, these tribes were among the Austronesian groups that had spread from the South China Sea into Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and other places throughout the Pacific region. Today, they inhabit an area extending from Madagascar on the east coast of Africa to Easter Island near the west coast of South America and from New Zealand in the south to Taiwan in the north. The combined population of these groups is about 280 million. The Austronesian culture can be grouped into three main regions of Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia. Taiwan is somewhat isolated in the northernmost reaches of this area, and although the island isn't large, the languages spoken by its indigenous groups are extremely diversified and many of the ancient linguistic traits of these tongues have been preserved. This has led many linguists to believe that Taiwan could be the ancestral home of the Austronesian peoples.

      Taiwan's indigenous peoples are divided into 19 tribes, with most of them belonging to what were formerly known as the "High Mountain" tribes. These are the Atayal, Saisiat, Bunun, Tsou, Ami, Puyuma, Rukai, Paiwan, Tao and Thao. The others inhabited the plains and basin areas along the western, northern and northeastern coastal regions. Known as the Pingpu peoples, these lowland tribes included the Ketqagalan, Kavalan, Luilang, Taokas, Pazeh, Papora, Babuza, Hoanya and Siraya. They were the first to come into contact with the Han people. The combined population of indigenous peoples in Taiwan is about 400,000. Whether in terms of language, outward appearance, cultural traits or social structure, each of these groups is quite distinctive.