Heshan was first established as a county in 1732 (the tenth year of the Yongzheng Reign period of the Qing Dynasty), and in 1958, it was combined with Gaoming Country to form Gaohe County. In 1981, it was separated from Gaoming and became Heshan County again. In 1993, it was granted the status of a city. It now has a land area of 1082.73 km and a registered resident population of 531,000 by 2020.