It includes the central part of Yichang's urban area, on the left (northwestern) bank of the Yangtze River.

In September 1949, the main part of the territory of modern-day Xiling was included in City Government Districts Two and Three (市人民政府第二、三區政府).

[1] In May 1960, the Yichang government decided to make the five then-existing subdistricts (街道辦事處) into three people's communes (人民公社).

Jiefang People's Commune consisted of five subcommunes (分社): Hepingli (和平里), Jiefanglu ("Liberation Road") (解放路), Xueyuanjie ("School Street") (學院街), Shiweijiguan (市委機關), and Yunjilu (雲集路).

On June 3, 1987, the Yichang City Xiling District Community Party Committee (中共宜昌市西陵区委员会 was created.