早期先民為了捕捉動物，於山區洞穴的上方，以竹竿或樹枝稀疏的橫跨在洞穴的兩旁做為支撐桿，桿子上方再覆蓋和周圍相同的樹葉或雜草，當動物行走至此地時，常因一時沒留心，踩空掉落坑洞裡而爬不上來，只得在陷阱內束手就擒。

In the past, in order to catch animals, settlers propped bamboo stalks or tree branches horizontally against the walls of the pits for support, and camouflage the pits with leaves or grass to cover the stalks. When animals walked by, they would accidentally step into the pit and became ensnared within the trap.