In 1018 (under the Goryeo Dynasty), Uiryeong came under the domain of Jinjumok (晋州牧) and a high official called Gammu was appointed in the region in the year 1390.

The region was the center of a righteous army led by general Gwak Jae-u, who rose up as a reaction to the Korean Japanese war of 1592.

During the Japanese colonial era, the county was called Ginei and was a part of the now-defunct Keishōnan Province.

In 1938, Lee Byung-chull, a resident of Uiryeong, founded Samsung in the nearby city of Taikyu (now Daegu).

The biggest problem in terms of transportation is that the intercity buses stop running to Uiryeong from the nearby cities fairly early in the evening.