Sham Shek Tsuen Village consists of two parts: Sham Wat and Sam Shek Wan. In early 1941, the British Hong Kong Government planned to move the population to nine locations on Lantau Island due to various issues caused by population expansion. However, the outbreak of World War II forced the cancellation of these plans. During the Japanese occupation, the Imperial Army Governor's Office actively developed Lantau Island and encouraged Japanese businessmen to invest in livestock farming. By the late 1940s, political turmoil on the mainland led to an influx of refugees into Hong Kong, many from the Chaozhou-Shantou area, some of whom eventually settled in Sham Shek Tsuen Village.
Following World War II, Hong Kong was severely damaged, with a sharp increase in population and unstable food supply. In response, the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (KAAA) was founded in 1951 to assist helpless refugees in becoming self-reliant and to help the government resettle Hong Kong's farmers. The association implemented a series of agricultural assistance programs.
By 1953, the sparse population of Sham Wat Village led the district office to merge it with Sam Shek Wan, thus creating Sham Shek Tsuen Village. It was officially established in 1956, with most of its villagers being refugees who had fled to Hong Kong from the mainland. (Managed by the Tai O District Office)
In 1958, the district office and the New Territories Civil Affairs Department built a large irrigation channel on the mountain of Sham Shek Tsuen Village. Upon completion, the channel provided the villagers with a fresh water source for irrigation, with enough supply to sustain existing farmland and to reclaim new agricultural land.
Today, the Sham Wat section of the coast boasts significant landscape, ecological, and cultural value. Its features include continuous woodlands and shrubs extending to coastal marshes, mangroves, mudflats, and rocky shores. The Ang Shui River that flows through the area is teeming with a variety of freshwater fish, saltwater fish, and reptiles, including several species of significant conservation value. The low-lying valleys of the region once developed into a flourishing agricultural landscape, with pedestrian paths connecting the villages from Tung Chung to Tai O.
深石村由深屈和䃟石灣兩部分構成。1941年初，英屬香港政府為了應對人口擴張所引發的諸多問題，曾計劃將居民遷移到大屿山的九個地點，但隨著第二次世界大戰的爆發，該計劃不得不宣告廢止。隨後在日佔時期，日軍登陸大屿山，帝國陸軍總督部積極開發該島，並鼓勵日本商人投入畜牧業。到了1940年代末，內地政治動蕩使得大量難民湧入香港，這些主要來自潮汕地區的難民，有一部分最終定居於深石村。
二戰後，香港受到嚴重破壞，人口激增且食品供應不穩定。為幫助這些無依無靠的難民自立更生，以及協助政府對香港農民進行重新安置，嘉道理農業輔助協會於1951年成立，推動了多項農業援助計劃。
到了1953年，深屈已所剩無幾的居民，被區辦事處與䃟石灣合併，成立了新的深石村。1956年，深石村正式成立，其中大多數村民是逃難至香港的內地人。（由大澳鎮區行政管理）
1958年，區辦事處聯同新界民政事務處，在深石村山上興建了一條大型水圳。水圳完工後，為村民提供了清潔的灌溉用水，水源豐富，足以支援現有農田的灌溉及開墾更多新田。
如今，深屈段的海岸線具有顯著的景觀、生態及文化價值，以其延綿的森林和灌叢直達海岸線的沼澤、紅樹林、潮間帶和岩岸為特色。昂深溪穿流於此，孕育著豐富的淡水魚、海水魚及爬行動物，包括數種具有保育價值的物種。這片地區的低谷曾經發展成為繁榮的農業景觀，而現有的步行道路將村落從東涌延伸至大澳。
This building features a distinctive local architectural style, with a flat-roofed main structure connected to dual-pitched roof constructions on either side. Beneath the sloping roofs lies a front porch area. Although modern materials have been used in its construction, the design still retains certain traditional elements of domestic architectural space.
深屈25號 Village House No. 25
此建築展現了顯著的在地特色，主體為平頂設計，並與兩旁的雙坡頂結構連接。斜坡屋頂下設有前簷廊。雖採用了現代新穎材料，但設計依舊體現出傳統民居建築的空間特色。
立面圖 Elevation
軸測圖 Axon
大嶼山深石村水圳碑記 Inscription of the Sham Shek Village Aqueduct Building
In 1958, the government constructed a large irrigation canal in Sham Shek Village to collect water from the mountains for the purpose of irrigating farmlands. This project also enabled the villagers to cultivate new agricultural land along the mountainous terrain. The following year, across from Sham Shek Pavilion and its village altar, the villagers erected a monument to commemorate this event. The inscription mentions the contributions of Sir David Ronald Holmes, the Commissioner of the New Territories Civil Affairs Department, and James William Hayes, the District Officer of South District, in promoting agriculture in Sham Shek Village. Many of the irrigation ponds, channels, and pipelines built that year are still in operation today.
在1958年，政府為深石村興建了一座大型水圳，用來蓄集山上的水源，以供灌溉農田之用。同時，這一工程也使深石村得以依山開墾新的農地。次年，在深石亭及深石社的對面。深石村村民立碑紀念這一件事，其中提及新界民政署署長何禮文和南約理民官許舒在深石村扶植農業。當年修建的灌溉水塘、水渠、管道等現在仍有許多在發揮作用。
在位於從深屈段到䃟石灣的山坳高點，帶髮修行的岑瑞珍在1917年為紀念母親，修建了深石亭。深石亭採用水泥結構，平面方正。雖結構簡單，但具有一定當地特色，目前常常作為行山人士中途歇息的場所。
At the high point of the mountain pass from Sham Wat to Sam Shek Wan, Sham Sui Chun, a practicing ascetic with unshorn hair, built the Sham Shek Pavilion in 1917 in memory of her mother. The pavilion is constructed of concrete with a square floor plan. Although the structure is simple, it possesses certain local characteristics and is currently often used as a resting place for hikers on their journey.
Beside Sham Shek Pavilion stands a similarly concrete shrine dedicated to the Earth Deity. Its form is consistent with those commonly found in other rural settlements throughout Hong Kong. Flanking the shrine are couplets that read "The Earth God is utterly just; the Earth Goddess is wholly kind-hearted," venerating the Earth God and Goddess to bless the villagers with safety in their comings and goings and a peaceful life. This couplet is a common feature in Earth God Temples or Temples of Fortune throughout the region.
深石亭及深石社 Sham Shek Pavilion and its village Altar
在深石亭一旁有一個同樣為水泥結構的神龕，供奉著伯公[1]。形式上和其它香港鄉村聚落的常見作法一致。神龕兩旁附有對聯，寫到「公公十分公道，婆婆一片婆心」[2]，供奉伯公伯婆，保佑出入平安、生活安寧。這是常見的伯公廟、福德廟會有的對聯。
[1] 伯公，即常說的土地公，客家人稱為伯公或福神，也有人稱為大王爺或社稷。The Earth Deity, often referred to as the "God of the Land," is called "Pak Kung" by the Hakka people or "Fortune God," and is also known to some as "Great King" or "God of the Soil and Grain."
[2] 在䃟頭村的土地公神壇的門聯上也有同樣的對聯。The same couplet can also be found on the entrance couplets of the Earth God shrine in San Tau Village.