Due to the effects of post-volcanic activity and precipitation, soil in the region is highly acidic. With the influence of the northeast monsoon and the area's microclimates, winter temperatures are much lower than the surrounding areas. The above factors cause the vegetation to differ from those in other regions at the same latitude. Some medium and high altitude plants can be found here such as bird-lime tree and hairy Japanese maple. Vegetation groups can be divided into subtropical monsoon rain forests, temperate evergreen broadleaf forests and mountain ridge grasslands. There are 1360 species of vascular bundle plants in the region. Some of the common ones are red nanmu, large-leaved machilus, Formosan sweet gum, Taiwan cherry, Mori cleyera and dark spotted cherry. The most famous is Taiwan isoetes in Menghuan pond, an aquatic fern only found in Taiwan. Mt. Datun is one of the most well known places to see some of the 168 species of butterflies in northern Taiwan. The best time to view the butterflies is from May to August. The most common ones are from the families Papilionidae, Danainae and Nymphalidae. There are also 122 species of birds in the region. Semi-feral cattle are one of notable attractions in the area.

This mountain range was originally called Grass Mountain (Chinese: 草山; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Chháu-soaⁿ) during the Qing Dynasty, in reference to Datun Mountain (大屯山; Tōa-tūn-soaⁿ). Officials during this period were worried about thieves stealing sulfur from the rich sulfur deposits in the area so they would regularly set fire to the mountain. Thus, only grass and not trees could be seen.

When someday comes you'll need to get in.

When someday comes you'll need to be able to get around.