[4] It is where the infamous Battle of Balete Pass where Brigadier General James Dalton II was killed during the Second World War.

According to the official website of Santa Fe, Nueva Vizcaya,[6][7] the town's former name "Imugan" derives from the combination of "imug", a Kalanguya word and "gone", an English term, both of which have the same meaning, while the current name was derived from the town's patron saint San Jose de Santa Fe.

The town's original inhabitants were the Kalanguya, an ethnic minority belonging to the Igorot people then later on followed by the Ilocanos, Pangasinenses and the Tagalogs.

[6][8] The Municipal district of Imugan was founded by Governor-General Francis Burton Harrison in 1917 by virtue of Executive Order No.

[6] On November 7, 1923, the Route 5 also known as San Jose–Santa Fe Road (Now part of the Maharlika Highway) was informally opened allowing easy access from Central Luzon to the Cagayan Valley.

Similarly, a shrine was built in Salacsac Pass to honor the unknown soldiers who displayed heroism during the war.

368,[13] signed by President Elpidio Quirino, abolished the municipal district structure in government and attached Imugan to Aritao and Kayapa.

[16][17] Santa Fe is located in the southwest part of Nueva Vizcaya and is borders the municipalities of Aritao in the northwest, Kayapa in the northeast, Carranglan, Nueva Ecija in the south, Itogon, Benguet in the east, San Nicolas, and Natividad, Pangasinan[a] in the southwest.

[6] It is the only town in Nueva Vizcaya that borders Pangasinan and is a typical bus stop for commuters going to the provinces of Isabela and Cagayan.

This town is the end point of the Dalton Pass, a zig zag road from San Jose and Carranglan, Nueva Ecija.

[18] The Nueva Vizcaya provincial board passed a resolution on September 21, 2022, urging San Nicolas officials to respect a memorandum of agreement between the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA), Pangasinan, and Nueva Vizcaya about twenty years ago.

Governor Ramon Guico III asserted Malico's affiliation with Pangasinan, emphasizing the province's commitment to enhancing local infrastructure and services regardless of the territorial dispute.

Nueva Vizcaya Governor Jose Gambito warns of potential legal repercussions for Pangasinan's investments in the area.

[33] According to the 2000 census by the National Statistics Office (NSO),[d][33] majority of the people of Santa Fe adhere to some form of Christianity.

It features activities such as dance competition by various ethnic groups in the municipalities, float completion, beauty pageants, and various traditional Kalanguya games such as arm wrestling or hanggol and dapapnikillum or pig catching.

It is the 4th highest poverty incidence in the province of Nueva Vizcaya, slightly higher than Alfonso Castañeda and lower than Kasibu.