本文以十九世紀至1934年間日月潭地區原住民的遷移史為主題，探討歷史上該地區的原住民各「社」之間的關係。過去的研究因建立在日治時期以來所形成的「族群」概念之上，使清代文字資料與日治時代的調查之間出現連貫性的問題。文中重新檢討清代對於日月潭地區陸續增加的地理、人文知識，並透過這些地理知識，重新建構該地區原住民聚落的位置及其相互關係。從這些資料我們發現，日月潭地區的原住民聚落包括水社、頭社、�敵鶠B審鹿、社仔、福骨、木屐蘭等七個社。筆者在文中就這七個社在十九世紀至1934年為止的集體遷移，繪製遷移方向示意圖。這些遷移的重要背景──「漢人」的侵墾和移住──亦在本文中有詳細的描述。
綜合這四張日月潭地區原住民的集體遷移圖，筆者歸納出該地原住民在十九世紀至日治時期的遷移年代與趨勢。在經過一百年左右的歷史�堙A我們可以發現日月潭地區原住民的集體遷移，似有特定的社的組合。我們可以推測以水�堛嚏B頭社、社仔社、�敵鶞嚏B審鹿社、木屐蘭社及福骨社等七社，在十九世紀的遷移史�堙A呈現出七社是一個「群體」(group) 的可能性。這個「群體」在十九世紀至日治時期的遷移�堙A始終存在著頗大的內向力。雖然中間曾經有分散的時候，各社的原住民最終仍然選擇聚在一起，形成聚落。從中，我們也可以看到這個「群體」的範圍與界線。這個「群體」的範圍與界線，卻與傳統所指的「水沙連」或「邵族」，並不能畫上等號，更與十九世紀移入的「平埔熟番」沒有密切的關係。

　　　　　This paper looks at the migration of aborigines in the Sun-Moon Lake region from 1815 to 1934 in order to understand the historical contacts between different from 1815 to 1934 in order to understand the historical contacts between different aboriginal tribes (she) in the region. Previous research has utilized a concept of "ethnicity" (tzu-ch'un) introduced during the Japanese colonial period; however, this has led to a divergence between depictions in Ch'ing literary records and Japanese ethnographies. I re-examine the growth of geographical and ethnographic knowledge of the sun-Moon Lake region, chat=rt the migration patterns of seven aboriginal tribes (the shui, T'ou, valan, shen-lu, she-tzu, Fu-ku, and Mu-chi-lan she), and detail the land reclamation and migration in the area by Han settlers.
The patterns of migration of these aborigines suggests that they formed a collective "group" with a strong internal cohesion during the nineteenth century. As a result, although some of the aboriginal tribes had initially settled in dispersed areas, in the end they chose to live together and form one settlement. The boundaries demarcating this group, moreover, differ greatly from the area traditionally ascribed to the Shui-sha-lien or Shao tribe and distinguish them from the plains aborigines (p'ing-p'u tzu) who migrated into the region in the nineteenth century.