In its mid course Pawan River passes through the little town of Tandjoengpoera (Tanjungpura).

The Pawan river drains into the sea near the present Ketapang through two estuaries; which are meandering channels.

It has been inferred that the Pawan River basin was under the influence of powerful tribal group of the "Indianised Javanese kingdom of Majapahit", in the 15th century or earlier.

From the 16th century onwards, the surrounding area, upstream of the river valley, was under the control of Dayak Kings (Indianized kings); this was a vast area of the "Dayak kingdom" not only in the upper Pawan River valley but it also extended to the upper Sekadau, across the basin boundary.

This area was considered safe from attacks from the pirates and as a result, gold and diamond trade is stated to have flourished till the sultanate of Pontianak created serious economic hurdles to the kingdom of Sanggau.

[12] The Bornean orangutan, also found in the forest along the Pawan river in West Kalimantan, are facing severe habitat loss due to logging and clearing land for palm oil and related agriculture activities.