[3] With increasing investor interests, improved infrastructures, and rapid population growth over the last decade, Sindangan is the fastest-growing municipality in the province of Zamboanga del Norte.

Due to its rapid demographic and economic growth, steps are being taken to convert the status of Sindangan from a municipality to a city in the next coming years.

The first version narrates that a native fisherman carrying a basket full of fish was on his way home met a Guardia Civil, military guards during the Spanish regime, who asked this question, "Cuál es el nombre de este lugar, amigo?"

In the 1850s during the Spanish reign in the archipelago, a number of towns had already been established in Luzon and in the Visayas while majority of the territories in Mindanao were still unclaimed by the Spaniards despite having already ruled the islands for over 200 years.

He was assigned in Dapitan and Katipunan, and met his martyrdom in the barrio of Ponot (now Jose Dalman) where he was killed by the Subanen people through the leadership of their chieftain.

In Spanish Philippines, a barrio is not eligible to be converted into a pueblo unless a Catholic parish is built and locals are fully Christianized and are permanently settled under the reduccion system.

However, despite the elevation of Sindangan’s status as a municipal district, it remained unconnected by road to other towns and barrios, making only sea travel as the primary mode of transportation to reach the seat of government in Lubungan.

The parish priest from Lubungan would come to Sindangan once a year by boat to conduct mass wedding ceremonies to locals and to celebrate Christianity.

It once comprised the current municipalities of Sindangan, Siayan, Leon B. Postigo, Salug, Godod, Liloy, Tampilisan, Labason, Gutalac, and Kalawit.

It was during the Third Philippine Republic when Sindangan subsequently lost huge portions of its territories after the creation of its offspring municipalities, namely: Labason (1947),[9] Liloy (1951),[10] Siayan (1967),[11] and Leon B. Postigo (established as Bacungan, 1982).

Since its elevation to a municipality in 1936, people from Luzon and the Visayas continued migrating to Sindangan to settle together with their families and built businesses.

During the Second World War, Sindangan was fortunately spared from the air bombings and battles happening in Luzon and in some parts of Mindanao at the time.

She departed Zamboanga the next day via Cebu in a convoy of large freighters, tankers, and torpedo boats to protect her against American destroyers.

With its movement now determined, the US submarine had waited for hours for the hell ship to pass by, two miles off coast from Sindangan point.

On September 7, 2014, on the 70th anniversary of the incident, the municipality of Sindangan dedicated a memorial remembering the victims and survivors of the Shinyo Maru, as well as the townsfolk who extended their hospitality and help.

It’s infrastructure and facilities has noticeably improved in the 2020s along with the coming of known brands in the municipality like Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Puregold, Mercury Drug, Watsons, and many more.

Plans to convert Sindangan into a city started as early as 2006 upon observations that the town has become the most progressive and the most income-generating municipality in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Since 2020, Sindangan had surpassed two out of the three requirements for cityhood as mandated by the Local Government Code — its land area and total population.

With an increasing number of investors in the last five years since 2017, the town is hopeful to meet the minimum annual income requirement of 100 million by the end of 2025.

Currently, the local government has initiated a campaign called “Damgo Dos Mil Baynte Singko [Eng: The 2025 Vision]” where ambitious projects and massive remodelings are being done in all its vicinity in ways of addressing the town’s inadequacies, aiming to improve its facilities, and making the town a conducive place for investment in the upcoming years.

Ranging from plain, slightly rolling, hilly to mountainous terrains, the Municipality of Sindangan embraces 45,100 hectares of land.

Hence, the municipality is identified as the trading hub of the province considering, this is a major terminal point for links to Dipolog down to Ipil and further down south to Zamboanga City.

As of the 2020 census, the town has a population of 103,952 people, making it the second largest local government unit in the province of Zamboanga del Norte after the provincial capital city of Dipolog.

Among its primary agricultural products are rice, corn, banana, and vegetable crops that is typically grown on its outlying barangays and are brought by batches in the town center every Sunday morning.

In 2022, Sindangan maintained its title as being the richest municipality in Zamboanga Peninsula as proven by the data released in the annual fiscal audit of COA, having a total revenue of 654,795,923 and a net income of 330,721,739.

The Sindangan Integrated Bus Terminal in Barangay Goleo is served by numerous public land transports such as the RTMI Buses (Rural Transit) via National Highway.

The complex consists of an outdoor basketball and tennis court, an olympic-size swimming pool, diving board, musical and dancing fountain, and a coliseum-type sports center, known as the SinDome, that is capable of handling concerts, pageants, seminars, and other related events.

The second parish in Sindangan in the Barangay of Siari honors their patron saint, Santo Nino de Cebu, every third Sunday of January where a grand fluvial procession at the eve of the fiesta is celebrated.

Dubbed as the biggest beauty pageant in the entire Zamboanga Peninsula region, the annual search for the Binibining Sindangan has caused headlines and draws hundreds of applicants from throughout the country with its prestigious production and generous grand and consolation prizes.

The winner of the most recent competition, which took place in December 2023, took home a brand-new car along with a cash reward of ₱500,000 and a round trip ticked to the United States.