[2] It was established some 30 km (19 mi) south of the modern city site[3] (in today's Aihui District) and was known as Aigun, Heilongjiang, or Saghalien Ula.

[5] After the capture of Albazin in 1685 or 1686, the Qing governor relocated the town to a new site on the right (southwestern) bank of the Amur, about 3 miles downstream from the original.

However, Aigun remained the seat of the Deputy Lieutenant-General (Fu dutong), responsible for a large district covering much of the Amur Valley within the province of Heilongjiang as it existed in those days.

[5] Aigun was visited around 1709 as a part of a nationwide Sino-French cartographic program by the Jesuits Jean-Baptiste Régis, Pierre Jartoux, and Xavier Ehrenbert Fridelli,[9] who found it a stronghold, serving as the base of Manchus controlling the Amur River basin.

Domestically, Heihe City borders Da Hinggan Ling Prefecture to the north, Yichun to the southeast, Suihua to the south, Qiqihar to the southwest, and Hulunbuir (Inner Mongolia) to the west.

[14][15] West of Heihe, there is an HVDC back-to-back station for realizing an interconnection between the power grids of Russia and China with 750 MW transmission capacity.

Heihe University (黑河学院) has requested the Russian bandy club SKA Neftyanik to send a coach, offering a one-year contract.

[16][failed verification] 2 Formally part of Oroqen Banner in Inner Mongolia but administered de facto by Daxing'anling Prefecture in Heilongjiang.