[citation needed] The province forms the bulk of Härjedalen Municipality, of which the village of Sveg is the seat.

The name Härjedalen, from Old West Norse Herjárdalr, literally means the "Valley of the Härje river".

The rock paintings at Ruändan consists of some twenty figures depicting people, bear, moose and reindeer.

Härjulf and Helga were the foreparents to the Icelander, Bjarni Herjólfsson, who was the first Norseman to see the "new world" when he was blown off-course whilst on a voyage to Greenland.

Agriculture remained Härjedalen's largest industry for a long time, supplemented by ironmaking and trade mainly to Røros in Trøndelag.

A large portion of Härjedalen residents emigrated to America, principally to Northwestern Minnesota during the late 1800s.

More recently, Härjedalen has increasingly taken up the position as a tourist landscape with large mountain facilities in Funäsdalen, Vemdalen, and Lofsdalen.

[5] Four-fifths of the province is situated above 500 metres of altitude, constituting a part of the Scandinavian mountain range.

The traditional provinces of Sweden serve no current administrative or political purposes, but are historical and cultural entities.