This paper aims to identify and explain the abundant meanings of a place called Wu-tiao Gang (五條港), a five-river area outside of the western part of Tai-wan fu (the central area of present-day Tainan city) in Taiwan. Firstly, we discuss the concepts of time spans raised by Fernand Bruadel and boundaries. With them, a traditional place could be formed gradually. Secondly, focusing on the multiple factors contributing to the transition of the conjuncture, we analyze why and how a spatial structure of the five-river area during the Qing Dynasty represented a type of "old time/space" but a "new time/space" after the area changed under the Japanese rule. Old time/space After Tai Jiang (臺江)dumped substantial deposits in 1823, we Wu Tiao Gang's geographic five-river features were gradually formed outside the western city wall. During this period, because of trade with other areas around the world, the businesses of San-jiao(三郊), three major guilds in Tainan, flourished. Briefly, this period reflected characteristics of a traditional place with certain geographical, social, religious and political borders. New time/space During the Japanese occupation period, the idea of traditional boundaries, such as city walls ad jing (境) were replaced by a grid system used to demarcate locations easily on map under the colonial power. In addition, as the Greenwich Mean Time method came to be practiced universally on the island, the rhythm of everyday life had to synchronize with other places in Taiwan, and even with those in Japan. Thus, the well defined, traditional "place" was transformed into only a "part" of the colonial planning chart. Finally, under the various influences within that historical context, we identify the transition of the place to be a process of change from flourishing to fading.