The dam was designed by Yoichi Hatta and built between 1920 and 1930 during Japanese rule to provide irrigation water for the Chianan Plain as part of the Chianan Irrigation system.

Because the natural flow of the Guantian River and other local streams was insufficient for irrigation of a planned 100,000 ha (250,000 acres), a tunnel was constructed to divert water from the Zengwen River to fill the reservoir.

[2] In 1974, the Zengwen Dam was completed on the Zengwen River shortly above the diversion tunnel, stabilizing and reducing the sediment load of water flowing into Wushantou Reservoir.

[3] A concrete overflow spillway is located shortly to the south of the dam, providing a maximum outflow of 1,500 m3/s (53,000 cu ft/s).

The dam sits at the head of a 58 km2 (22 sq mi) catchment area, which increases to 539 km2 (208 sq mi) when including the portion of the Zengwen River watershed diverted into the reservoir.