Min Chinese speakers from Fujian changed the pronunciation to "a-kong tiàm" (grandpa's shop), and used it for both Gangshan District, as well as the Agongdian River.

Agongdian river would gradually become a dumping ground for domestic, agricultural and industrial wastewater, most notably that of the surrounding screw factories, which contains heavy metal such as chromium and zinc.

In 2012, large amounts of fish were poisoned to death due to pollution, which was then used by nearby residents as animal feed.

[4] In 2013, the Kaohsiung City Government embarked on a series of short, medium, and long-term plans to clean the river, improve water quality and restore its ecosystem.

[10][11] The river flows through Gangshan, Yanchao, Alian, Lujhu, Yongan and Mituo District, before finally entering the Taiwan Strait.