It is located along Route 7, 119 kilometres (74 mi) east of Phonsavan, along the road which passes through Muang Kham and Ban Na Sala on the way to Nong Haet.

[3] Nong Het has a turbulent history of battles between the Ly and Moua warriors, Red Laotians and the Hmong.

[6] The strategical position of Nong Het meant that it was an "important resupply and transshipment point" during the Indochinese and Vietnam War, and contained "approximately a dozen NVA warehouses".

[7][self-published source] French colonial leader Doussineau was based at Nong Het during the Japanese invasion.

[9] The Vietnamese built a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi)-long road from Muong Xen to Nong Het to ease the transportation of Communist units to the Hmong base camp.