The dam site was originally developed during the Shu-Han nearly 2000 years ago.

The traditional Dujiangyan Irrigation System consisting of canals, levees, and dams, has been in use since 256 BC.

[3] The 7.9 magnitude quake on May 12, 2008 caused some damage to the dam, with its wall being cracked and fissured.

[4][5] The reservoir is located just a few kilometers from the 2008 earthquake epicenter, and just a few hundred meters from the fault.

Some geologists hypothesized that the loading and unloading of the crust below the reservoir caused by changes in the water level may have somehow acted as a trigger to the earthquake.