to board a boat (in the past when the pier is usually at a higher level compared to the boat); to disembark from a ship / boat, to go ashore (when the pier is a lower level compared to the boat / ship as is more common nowadays)
Definitions (Wiktionary)
verb, Hokkien, Mainland-China, verb-object
to load cargo onto a ship (syn.) 落貨, 上货, 落水, 上貨, 落货
verb, Min-Nan, dialectal, including, verb-object
to disembark; to get off a ship (syn.) 下船
verb, Cantonese, Min-Nan, verb-object
to embark; to get on a ship (syn.) 上船, 下船