It encompassed the eastern part of what is now Bjørnafjorden Municipality in Vestland county.

[3] It was a small municipality and so in the early 1960s, the Schei Committee recommended that it be merged with two of its neighbors: Fusa and Strandvik.

[3] The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the valley that is the site of the old Haaland farm (Old Norse: Hávaland or Háland) since the first Hålandsdal Church was built there.

On 3 November 1917, a royal resolution changed the spelling of the name of the municipality to Haalandsdal, removing the definite form ending -en.

[8] The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Hålandsdal was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms.