From the discovery of sporadic relics in the 1920s to the present underwater archeology, archaeological survey of Xisha Qundao has undergone three stages, including sporadic discovery and local collection, scientific investigation and excavation and underwater archeology.
Archaeological survey of Nansha Qundao started in the early 1990s, during which systematic and scientific investigation and excavation was launched mainly by archaeologists from Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Province.