During the Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms era, Gong'an County was known as Youjiangkou and was a part of Jingzhou Province.

[3] In April 2009, the county drew nationwide ridicule after media reported that Gong'an officials had ordered civil servants and employees of state-owned companies to buy a total of 23,000 packs / year of a Hubei brand of cigarette.

The officials were undaunted, saying that the increased revenue from the cigarette tax would buoy the local economy.

After several weeks of embarrassment, they relented, posting a short message on their government Web site: "We have decided to remove this edict.

[1][5][6] The new county seat for executive, legislative and judiciary and for the CPC and PSB branches, is Douhudi.