The center of the city is located in the Fukuyama Plain, which has been built by land reclamation projects since the Edo period, and the delta area that spreads out at the mouth of the Ashida River, which flows north and south through the city.

An exception was the Ekiya neighborhood of northern Fukuyama, which was a post station on the old Sanyōdō highway.

Following the Meiji restoration, the town of Fukuyama was established on April 1,1889 with the creation of the modern municipalities system.

On August 8, 1945 (two days after the atomic-bombing of Hiroshima), 91 American B-29 bombers made an air raid on Fukuyama, destroying much of the city.

On March 31, 1954, several towns and villages in Kōrimatsu District merged to found the city of Matsunaga.

Fukuyama was promoted to core city status on April 1, 1998 with greater local autonomy.

In terms of national politics, Fukuyama is part of the Hiroshima 6th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.

JFE Steel West Japan Works Fukuyama Area (former Nippon Kokan Fukuyama Works), which was completed in 1961, is not only the company's largest manufacturing base, but also the world's largest steelworks.

The city has 13 public high schools operated by the Hiroshima Prefectural Board of Education and one by the national government.