The western portion of the city is hilly, rising to the Ōu Mountains which form its eastern border.

The area of present-day Higashine was part of ancient Dewa Province and is mentioned in the Engishiki records of the early Heian period.

Under the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate, much of the area was part of the holdings of the Ezo-based Matsumae Domain.

Higashine has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Yamagata District 2 of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.