The next year, it saw a major influx of population, including boat people who were organized into fishing brigades. The island's wandering was ended by the erection of a seawall and stabilization of the banks around the island. In 1958, the island was placed under Baoshan County, as its ferries operated from the harbor of Wusong at the mouth of the Huangpu. Hengsha was originally part of Chuansha County, which later merged into Pudong. Under the Republic, the island carried on an active trade in grains via junk. Between its formation and 1958, the island gradually expanded towards the northwest while receding to the southeast: together, these actions caused the island to 'migrate' about 5.25 kilometers (3.3 mi) in the direction of Changxing. Hengsha Township was established in 1909. It began to be reclaimed for agricultural purposes in 1886 or 1890. Hengsha first emerged from the Yangtze in 1858.
It was applied to the island for the way it formerly stood athwart the mouth of the Yangtze, although time has now given it a round or heart-like shape and moved it in line with Changxing. Heng is the horizontal, rightward stroke ⟨一⟩ used in writing Chinese characters, similar in form to a dash.
