It was originally administered as part of Ciamis Regency, which surrounds it (except on the northeast side, where there is a common boundary with Central Java province, along the Tanduy River), but was split off to become an independent city on 11 December 2002.

[1] The table also includes the location of the district administrative centres, the number of administrative villages in each district (totaling 9 classed as urban kelurahan and 16 as rural desa), and its postal codes.

Notes: (a) comprising 3 kelurahan (Banjar, Mekarsari and Situbatu) and 4 desa.

The currently non-operational train service between Banjar and Cijulang, with a length of 82.385 kilometers, gives a beautiful panorama along the track, including hills and a view of the sea from above Pangandaran.

The rail authority has announced its intention to re-activate the train service and will restore Pangandaran and Cijulang stations while still keeping their original features.