Scholars often argue that the Hakka identity grew out of the many cross-community organizations that flourished with the social development of Taiwan under Qing rule. While it is widely accepted that such organizations were territorial-based rather than lineage-based, contemporary studies have not probed into the reason why various lineage organizations also thrived in the development of Hakka communities and ultimately became a distinct cultural marker representing Hakka solidarity. To elucidate the correlation between Hakka identity and lineage organizations, this paper traces the social impetus that contributed to the emergence of lineage organizations from a long-term historical perspective within the framework of state-society integration. By exploring the role of lineages in the development of the Liudui region in south Taiwan, which was famous for its once powerful militaristic alliance during early Qing rule, this paper argues that the interpretation of Hakka ethnicity is closely related to the course of lineage formation. The establishment of ancestral sacrificial organizations and lineage corporations laid down the foundation for the formation of ethnic collective memories and the growing identity of the area. Cultural symbols of traditional Han clan development such as ancestral halls and genealogies continued to be the key representations of power and influence in Liudui, even during the colonial period. By 1960, Hakka ethnic memory in Liudui was molded by collective historical interpretations of its past in different eras and under different regimes both by local Hakka residents and the government. The identity of Hakka-speaking groups was further intensified by the continuous Chinese state-building process carried over to Taiwan by the post-war Chinese nationalist regime.