History of Mongkok
Around the years 265-420 during the Jin Dynasty the area was inhabited as remains have been found of ceramics of this period. They can be seen
During the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago it was a busy place with large scale Kilns in use, the remains of which are have been found under the present Soy Street. What exactly was being produced in those Kilns is still a matter of archaeological debate, it might have been limestone for industrial and agricultural use, or it might have been some of the famed Tang ceramics. What is known for sure is that the district was populated and for active.
More recently it's location on the coast caused it to become a fishing settlement and in the 19th century Mong Kok Tsui was a fishing village with boats mooring at the harbour just there.
1884 - Shui Yuet Temple built on original location, but relocated to current location in 1924.
1910 - The beginning of it's long rise to global prominence started in the 1910s with the establishment of a ferry pier which allowed a regular route to be run between Hong Kong Island and Mongkok Tsui as the village was then known. Little remains of that old village but Shanghai Street which still exists was once it's main road and linked it to the neighbouring villages of Yau Ma Tei on one side and Sham Shui Po on the other. At the same time the Kowloon Canton Railway opened, and a small station at Yau Ma Tei also increased access to the area.
1925 - 1927 - The area developed quickly and additional facilities to cater for the growing population were built including a new Police Station, now still part of the current Mong Kok Police Station, as well as Shui Yuet Temple which still stands as a protected historic building. It was during this point that the Diocesan Boys' School was constructed on Kadoorie Hill.
1930s - Commercial development booms and construction of "tong lau" shop/houses on Shanghai street turns the area into a major shopping and trading area
1960s - The old Army football ground which was located on the northern border of Mong Kok, right next to the "Boundary Street" with the New Territories was handed over to the Urban Council for development into a public sports facility. Today this is Mongkok Stadium, one of the main football stadia in the territory.