[2] It is bordered by the communities of: Newchurch and Merthyr; Carmarthen; Llangain; Llansteffan; Laugharne Township; and St Clears, all being in Carmarthenshire.

Rocks found in a quarry near to the village in 1977 contain some of the Earth's oldest fossils which date from the Ediacaran period, 564 million years ago, when modern-day Wales was part of the micro-continent Avalonia.

[4] There are a number of Iron Age hillforts in the area but centuries of ploughing have reduced most to cropmarks only visible from the air.

Evidence of pre-conquest religious use of the site is shown through its dedication to the prominent Celtic saint Cynog and circular churchyard.

[9] At the southern end of the parish lay an important pilgrimage route to St David's fording the Cywyn at ‘Pilgrims Rest’,[10] a medieval hall still survives close to the ruined church of Llanfihangel Abercowin.

[15] In 1884, the community was described as follows:Llangynog is a parish, in the higher division of the hundred of Derllys, union and county of Carmarthen, South Wales.