[4] The district is located on the slopes of the Western Caucasus, which descend to the Black Sea.

The majority of the population of the district lives at or close to the seashore, in former settlements later turned microdistricts.

The biggest of them are (northwest to southeast) Vishnevka, Makopse, Sovet-Kvadzhe, Ashe, Lazarevskoye, Volkonka, Chemitokvadzhe, Golovinka, Yakornaya Shchel, Nizhnyaya Beranda, Vardane, Loo, Uchdere, and Dagomys.

The city district includes six rural okrugs:[1] The eastern shore of the Black Sea was populated from the antiquity, often changing allegiations.

[5] Soviet Power was declared in Sochi in February 1918, followed by the advance of the army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, which in July 1918 occupied the whole coast up to Tuapse.

South-Eastern Oblast was abolished on October 16, 1924, and the district was transferred to newly established North Caucasus Krai.

In July 1930, okrugs were abolished, and Shapsugsky national district was directly subordinated to the krai.

[5] In 1933, it was decided to totally reconstruct the coastal area and to create a large number of spa resorts.

The principal railway stations within the district are Lazarevskaya, Yakornaya Shchel, Loo, and Dagomys.

The district contains a large amount of archaeological monuments of various cultures, which include, among others, megalithic dolmens, Genoese Fort Godlik at the mouth of the Godlik River, Byzantine Church in Loo, and ruins of Fort Lazarev in Lazarevskoye.