Around 1400 CE it began to develop as a trade city at a crucial ford over the Bani linking the Inner Niger Delta to the goldfields to the south, although oral traditions conflict on whether Marka from Dia or Dyula from Djenne were responsible.

[3] In 1690 San, a prosperous market town, was conquered by Biton Coulibaly and integrated into the growing Bamana Empire.

In 1739, Famaghan Ouattara of the Kong Empire intervened in a Bamana civil war and destroyed the town.

The yearly Sanke Mo fishing festival takes place every June, and has been officially classified as part of the national cultural patrimony of Mali.

[5] San has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with a wet season from late May to early October.