According to “The General History of Taiwan,” the governor of Da Jhu Li, whose name was Cian Jhen, cultivated this area during Ming Loyalist rule and this area was named after this governor; Some also said it got the name because there were lots of bandits in the area and the county government set a frontier post here during Cing dynasty. As a result, this area got its name Cian(front) Jhen(town).
Cian Jhen District was both public and private cultivations governed by Wan Nian County during Ming Loyalist rule. In 1684, after Cing Dynasty Government formally annexed Taiwan, this area was under the jurisdiction of Feng Shan village, Feng Shan county, Taiwan fu, Fu Jian Province(Ciao Ya, Fo Gong, Ling Zih Liao) and the other part Da Jhu Ciao Jhuang (Cian Jhen, Li Zih Nei, Gong Shan Zih, Ci Shi Jia). In 1750, the rebellion of Ling Shuang Wen happened and brought the damage of the town. In 1752, the county government office was moved to Po To Street, and later on it was upgraded from Feng Shan Village to Feng Shan Li(Area), Da Jhu Village to Da Jhu Li(Area). They bordered at Guei Zih Shuo Hill. In 1887, the Cing dynasty government upgraded Taiwan's status from prefecture of Fujian to full province, with three “Fu”(county) under the province. In 1887, Cian Jhen Juang, Si Shih Jia, Gang Shan Zih, and Li Zih Nei all belong to Da Jhu Li, Feng Shan County. In 1897, Li Zih Nei, Si Shih Jia, Cian Jhen Jhuang are under the jurisdiction of Da Gou Office, Feng Shan County.
In 1909, Si Shih Jia and Cian Jhen Jhuang are under the jurisdiction of Ling Ya Liao District, Da Gou Branch; Cao Ya Jhang and Fo Gong Jhuang are under Gang Zih Cian District, Feng Shan Branch; Li Zih Nei Jhuang are under Ci Lao Ye District, Feng Shan Branch.
In 1920, Si Shih Jia and Cian Jhen were parts of Kaohsiung Street, Kaohsiung County. Li Zih Nei and Gang Shan Zih were parts of Feng Shan Street, Feng Shan County. Cao Ya, Fo Gong, and Ling Zih Liao belong to Hsiao Gang Jhang, Feng Shan County. In 1924, Kaohsiung county and Kaohsiugn Street were abrogated and the later got promoted to Kaohsiung City. Cian Jhen and Si Shih Jia were in the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City and both became districts. Other gatherings stayed the same jurisdictions. After the Big Kaohsiung City plan was announced in 1935, Li Zih Nei, Gang Shan Zih and Cao Ya, Fo Gong which belonged to Feng Shan Street and Ling Zih Liao which belonged to Siao Gang Jhuang were all under the jurisdiction of Kaohsiung City; Li Zih Nei and Cao Ya districts were added. In 1944, Si Shih Jia, Cian Jhen, Li Zih Nei and Cao ya all had field set up in the districts, and Ciao Ya, Fo Gong, Si Shih Jia, Cian Jhen, Li Zih Nei and Gang Shan Zih. After the retrocession of Taiwan in 1945, Cian Jhen, Si Shih Jia and Cao Ya districts became the Second District. In February of 1946, the second district included the area of Li Zih Nei and changed the name to Cian Jhen District.
After retrocession in 1945, the office of Cian Jhen district was located on Fu Sing Third Road where the employee club of Taiwan Aluminum Company is today. Later in 1947, the office was moved to to Cian Jhen Lane, Cian Jhen Street, where the district office staff dormitory is now. In 1962, the office building was too small to cope with the business load, and again it was moved to No.1 to 3, Cheng Gong Second Road, next to the Railway. Until 1981, the district office stayed at this location for 20 years. However, around this period of time, everything in Kaohsiung developed fast. The first industrial export processing area, “Kaohsiung export processing Zone,” was set up in this district in December of 1966 and the population in this area increased rapidly. As a result, the traffic of this area became a nightmare. Due to lots of reasons like the traffic conditions, lots noises caused by factories, the office building getting old and shabby, and the inconvenience of no parking space, locals pleaded to relocate the office time and again. The city government finally granted more than NT45,000,000 to build Cian Jhen Administrative Center at the present location(No.151, Kang Ding Road). It started building in September of 1981. After 11 months, the building was finished and the district office was moved to the new building.
The Cian Jhen District Office is now seated in this 5-story office building with a basement floor. At the early stage, the units stationed in the buildings are: Household Registration Office was on the first floor, while Kaohsiung bank Ciao Ya Branch and Job Center Cian Jhen Branch in the north wing on the same floor. The main district office was on the second floor. The north wing of the third floor was Kaohsiung Cian Jhen tax office and the south wing was National Tax Administration Cian Jhen branch. The Maintenance Office of the Public Works used the offices on the fourth floor for the time being. Thee office of Cian Jhen Cleaning Squad is on the fifth floor. Not only because various government units are stationed in the same building but also the Cian Jhen Police Station and Land Administration Office are near by, it was very convenient and saved up the travel time for the staff working in all these units and the locals who need to go to these units for business. However, the load of businesses from all these units got heavier and the space seemed always crammed up with people. Meanwhile, some units were moved out of the building to other locations. For instance, Kaohsiung bank Cao Ya branch moved to Yu Gang Road, Job Center Cian Jhen Branch to Labor Recreation Center, and the National Tax Administration to Yi Sin First Road, and the Maintenance Office of the Public Works back to the City Government.
Now in the Cian Jhen Administrative Center, the working units are: Household Registration Office is on the first floor, District Office Military Service department in the south wing on the same floor, and Social Affairs department in the north wing. The main district office is on the second floor. The third floor is the Construction Office, Investigation Office and the Hall, Kaohsiung Cian Jhen Tax Office is on the fourth floor. Cian Jhen Cleaning Squad is on the fifth floor. Now in our office building, the units are: Household Registration 1F, Military Service on the South Wing of the First Floor. North wing of the First Floor is the Social Affairs of the District Office. District Main Office is on the second floor. On the third floor, we have construction and --- and the hall and tax office Cian Jhen branch on the fourth floor, Cleaning squat office on the fifth floor.