<p>Research question: Migration studies have confirmed that migrants are associated with higher lifetime gains and social mobility than non-migrants. As hard-to-reach population, although Taiwan indigenous peoples (TIPs) are much more migratory than the ordinary people, it is contradictory to see that poverty and inequality remain persistent and prevalent among TIPs. Data and methodology: The research utilizes record linkage and geocoding methods to build anonymized population dynamics data, based on household register from 2013 to 2018. Using this longitudinally linked data, the research unveils the entangled features of population dynamics in TIPs. With a focus on the effects of income inequality in the context of systemic barriers and structural factors, the research explores migration dynamics in primary, return, and onward migrations in the context of regional inequality. Main research findings: (1) migration of TIPs is characterized by migration between areas of high income-high inequality and areas of low income-low inequality; (2) TIPs are much more migratory in areas of high income-high inequality than in areas of low income-low inequality; inequality in wealthy areas outweighs income in triggering migration, but migration in areas with high poverty and low inequality is triggered by low income gain; (3) repeat migration, particularly the return type, is characterized by a net gain of migrants moving from low poverty but high inequality areas into areas with high poverty but low inequality; (4) Onward migration of TIPs counters existing findings. The main reason why migration is less likely to promote TIPs social mobility is due to weak ethnic and socioeconomic connections and systemic barriers between TIPs and non-TIPs population.</p>