Yong Kang was the spot where the Han people first settled along the XingangRiver (present day Yan-ShueiRiver) during the Ming-Cheng era. Crossing the Tai-Jianginlet, the Han people went upstream of the XingangRiver and settled on the southern shore of the river. The place later became prosperous as it was along the northbound route from Jun-Cheng (present day TainanCity). In the earlier days, Yong Kang was referred to as “Pu-Jian-Tou” and this name can be traced back to the 17th century war with Japan. At that time, the armor of the warriors was mostly made of deer leather and Taiwan was the major supplier. The Han people traded sustenance, such as rice and salt, with the Pingpu tribes for deer. The deer pelts were exported to Japan, and the meat was made into deer jerky, which was then shipped to the mainland.  In the southern Fujianese dialect, “Pu” means flatlands, “Jian” is a type of deer that is relatively smaller in size, and “Tou” refers to capes near the sea or the water. Literally, “Pu-Jian-Tou” means “a flatland near the sea where deer gather.”

　　When Cheng Cheng-Kung arrived in Taiwan, he first established the Cheng-Tien Court and An-PingTown, then organized the south and north peripheries of An-PingTown into 24 villages. The Pu-Jian-Tou at that time was officially recorded as “YongKangVillage”. In 1684, Taiwan was incorporated into the territory of the Qing Dynasty and Yong Kang was ruled under the jurisdiction of the Tainan Court. During the Japanese occupation, town councilors were stationed at Yong Kang “Pu-Jian-Tou Quarter”, and the area was ruled by the board of Tainan officials in TainanState. The place was subsequently renamed as “YongKangUpper-MiddleVillage” and “Yong Inner District”, and “Yong Kang Quarter.”  After World War II, the province-town-village-city structure was implemented in Taiwan. The “Yong Kang Quarter” was renamed as “YongKangVillage” and organized into 15 communities. However, due to the rapid growth of population, the area was restructured into 29 communities in 1982. By 1993, the population had exceeded 150,000, and the status was raised to county-controlled city. In the following year, the administrative structure was revised as 39 communities, but some of the communities have more people than the population sum of TsochengTownship and LungchiTownship. By October 2002, the population exceeded 200,000, which was the most populated city in TainanCounty.

　　On September 1st, 2009, the Ministry of Interior announced the “Tainan County/City Merger and Restructuring Plan”. On December 25th, 2010, TainanCounty and TainanCity were officially merged into “TainanCity”, whereas YongKangCity was restructured as the Yong Kang District, TainanCity.