Soils are the fundamentals of agriculture. The soils in Taitung or divided into four categories and they are spread mainly in four areas - the Central Mountain Ridge, the coastal ridge, the river valley plains, and the volcanoes.
Hills of the Central Mountain Ridge below 700 m are more suitable for agriculture. This area has red-brown soil 30-50cm thick, neutral to mildly acidic; it is very suitable for long term plants. At the foot of the mountains, the Luye and Cilu area riverbeds have 70-90cm have neutral to mildly acidic clay, which drains well and is quite suitable for plants of all categories.

The coastal ridge area is mainly neutral to mildly acidic clay, with thicker soil layer, 80-100cm. The slow hills at the east side of the ridge are many carbonate mud rocks or shale. The thickness of the soil layers varies - some slower hills may have soil as thick as one meter, and other steeper hills they have only 30 cm.
The river valley plains include the Taitung Delta plain. Luye and Cishang are father from the river shore; therefore, the soil here are as deep as 60 cm. This area is the main farming area in Taitung County since other places have relatively shallow layers of rock soil that are prone to drought.

The volcanic islands and have red-brown clay. It is mildly acidic but contains very low organic substances. The central hills of Lanyu (Orchid Island) have black clay ranging from mild to strong acid in nature. The coastal line has yellow-brown has shallow rock and soil. It is neutral and suitable for sweet potato, calla, and millet.