Founded by a Spanish Governor, named Agustín Fernado de Pinedo, the town prospered in the early years of the 20th century, as a centre for the north of the country, exploiting the new wealth of the Gran Chaco, and a river port.

The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Concepción en Paraguay.

Concepción has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen: Aw) with abundant annual precipitation, although possessing a highly prominent summer peak.

Severe thunderstorms are very common in the summer and have the capability to dump copious amounts of rainfall in a short period of time, along with destructively high winds and occasional hail.

Concepción is also located in very close proximity to the Tropic of Capricorn, with the latitudinal line lying just south of the city.