It is located in the mostly mountainous area to the south of the Yellow River, near Gansu's border with Qinghai province.

[6] In 278 BCE, it was incorporated into the Longxi Commandery as Fuhan County (Chinese: 枹罕县; pinyin: Fúhǎn Xiàn).

[6] In 184 CE, Song Jian [zh] led local Qiang forces to rebel against the Han dynasty during the Liang Province rebellion.

[6] Following the fall of the Han dynasty, the area of present-day Jishishan fell under the jurisdiction of Cao Wei.

[6] During the subsequent Sixteen Kingdoms period, the area of present-day Jishishan County changed hands frequently.

[6] In 412 CE, it was brought into the folds of the Northern Wei, which organized it as part of the Jianchang Commandery [zh].

[6] In the early parts of the subsequent Sui dynasty, the area belonged to the Fuhan Commandery [zh].

[6] The following year, part of the area was included in the newly established Anxiang County (Chinese: 安乡县; pinyin: Ānxiāng Xiàn).

[6] In 848 CE, Tang dynasty general Zhang Yichao led a rebellion against the Tibetan Empire, and briefly conquered the area of He Province.

[6] In the subsequent Mongol-led Yuan dynasty, the area was incorporated as part of Gongchang Circuit (Chinese: 巩昌路; pinyin: Gǒngchāng Lù).

[6] Civil governance was installed in 1373, and the area was organized as Anxiang County, which was under the jurisdiction of Hezhou Fu (Chinese: 河州府; pinyin: Hézhōu Fǔ).

[6] Upon the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, the area was reorganized as Lanshan Circuit [zh], in Gansu province.

[6] In 1913, Lintao Fu was abolished, and the area was reorganized as Daohe County (Chinese: 导河县; pinyin: Dǎohé Xiàn).