The main town of the Lobi people, Bouna is known for the vernacular architecture of the fortress-style adobe compounds in surrounding villages.

[3]: 71 Bouna was a "highly centralized kingdom based on military districts administered by princes" who exploited the local gold deposits.

[3]: 88 By 1895 the Wassoulou Empire under Samori Ture had pushed east and conquered Kong, and was eyeing Bouna as a link to British-held Gold Coast, a source of firearms.

His son Saranken Mori captured the town in December 1896, installing the local Cisse as Imams in place of the Kamara family who had plotted against them.

Bouna was one of the main strongholds of the Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire, the rebel army of the 2002 attempted coup d'état.