In medieval and early modern China, the present Slender West Lake was described as a stretch of river variously known as Paoshan, Changchun, Baoyang, or Baozhang Creek.

The area was popularly known as the Slender West Lake by the late 17th century, when the name was recorded in the treatise Yángzhōu Gǔchuī Cíxù (t 《揚州鼓吹詞序》, s 《扬州鼓吹词序》) compiled by Wu Qi (t 吳綺, s 吴绮, Wú Qǐ; 1619–1694).

[a] It was further popularized in the 1736 poem "On Baozhang Creek" (《咏保障河》, Yǒng Bǎozhàng Hé) written by the Hangzhou native Wang Hang (汪沆, Wāng Hàng, 1704–1784) during a visit to Yangzhou.

[b] Slender West Lake is located between Hanjiang and Guangling districts in the center of modern Yangzhou in central Jiangsu in eastern China.

Originally part of the moats, canals, and streams around the older locations of Yangzhou, it lies above the northwestern corner of the city's Song, Ming, and Qing fortifications.

Despite Yangzhou's centuries of prosperity as a major hub on the Grand Canal, the area around Slender West Lake was not particularly built up until the Qianlong Era of the Qing, the mid-1700s.