Its territories covered present-day central and western Hubei province, as well as parts of Chongqing.
[1] After the fall of Qin, Nan Commandery became the fief of Gong Ao, a noble of Chu, and his son Gong Wei, until it was conquered by Emperor Gaozu of Han.
[2] In the Western Han dynasty, the commandery consisted of 18 counties: Jiangling (江陵), Linju (臨沮), Yiling (夷陵), Huarong (華容), Yicheng (宜城), Ying (郢), Zhi (踬), Dangyang (當陽), Zhonglu (中盧), Zhijiang (枝江), Xiangyang (襄陽), Bian (編), Zigui (秭歸), Yidao (夷道), Zhouling (州陵), Ruo (若), Wu (巫) and Gaocheng (高成).
[4] During the Three Kingdoms era, three new commanderies – Yidu (宜都), Jianping (建平) and Xiangyang were formed in the region, and multiple new counties were created as well.
By the time when Jin dynasty reunited China (280 AD), the territory of Nan had been reduced to 11 counties, namely Jiangling, Bian, Dangyang, Huarong, Ruo, Zhijiang, Jingyang (旌陽), Zhouling, Jianli, Songzi, and Shishou.