In the eighteenth century, groups of Ilocano-speaking immigrants arrived in several waves by sea and land, gradually displacing the Aeta in the lowland areas.

The town was officially partitioned from Buguey on January 1, 1918, via the Executive Order of Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison.

[5] Japanese troops of the Tanaka Detachment from Formosa, as a main invasion force, landed on several locations in Northern Luzon, one of which is the town of Gonzaga, on December 10, 1941.

The highest elevation in the municipality is 1,130 metres (3,710 ft) above sea level, located at the Mount Cagua in Barangay Magrafil.

The majority of the municipality's 40 kilometres (25 mi) coastline is mostly along the Babuyan Channel to the north, although it is also bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the southeast.