本文主旨在重建烏溪流域早期移民入墾及水圳修築之歷史，並進而探討移墾到水圳修築之時間早晚問題。本文研究結論是烏溪下游最早移墾，上游次之，中游最晚。原因決定於可耕地大小。水利修築大致與移墾同時，俾能水田化，種水稻在清代農業土地的收益最高。有許多水圳由平埔族所開鑿，尤其是埔里盆地，證明平埔族充分適應漢人農業模式。本文運用若干新史料，故有若干新發現足以糾正過去之錯誤。

This paper reconstructs the history of the reclaiming activity and the constructions of the irrigation systems in the Wu-Xi Drainage Basin. Furthermore, it discusses the chronological order of the constructions of the irrigation systems. The research concludes that the onset of the reclamation took place in the downstream basin of Wu-Xi, and later in the basins of its upstream. The mid-stream basin of Wu-Xi was the last developed area. The acreage of the arable land determined the chronological order. The construction of the irrigation systems approximately concurred with the reclaiming activity, so pioneers could turn the wild into rice paddies, which produced the most profits than other sorts of cultivation in the Ching Dynasty. The Pingpu people constructed a large proportion of the irrigation systems in the Wu-Xi Basin, especially those in Puli. The fact proves that they have proficiently adapted themselves to the Han people’s agricultural style. This paper introduces several newly discovered historic materials, which enables corrections to be made for the mistaken cognitions in the past.