It is of great cultural significance to the people of Kaohsiung and plays an important role in its economy and tourism.

In 2018, mayor Han Kuo-yu proposed that a ferris wheel be built on the bank of Love River to create a romance industry and improve the economy.

[1] Before the urban development of the area, the river flowed in a wide and flat channel, used for irrigation and surrounded by farms.

(The first incident of pollution was halfway through the Japanese occupation of Taiwan when paper mills ejected waste into the river.)

In the late 1940s, the name Love River came into popular usage after a pair of lovers died by suicide in its depths.

Also, it's the time after the KMT took over Taiwan, tourists began to gather around a newly built riverside park.

[4] Previously, in 1968, the Kaohsiung mayor, Yang Chin-hu, had unsuccessfully tried to put forward an alternative of Jen Ai River – to commemorate the birthday of Chiang Kai-Shek.

A set of floodgates were built on the river to capture trash and sewage and send it to a treatment plant.

In 2009, the World Games hosted by the Kaohsiung City Government and the Love River became the first dragon boat race venue.