Dong Xuan District was established in 1611, along with Tuy Hoa District, the first two districts of Phu Yen Prefecture. Until 1954, Dong Xuan District also included the area of present-day Song Cau Town.
In 1957, the Saigon government established Song Cau District, separated from Dong Xuan District.
After 1975, Dong Xuan District merged with Song Cau District to form Dong Xuan District, Phu Khanh Province. Dong Xuan District consists of 1 town and 9 communes: Song Cau Town, Xuan Canh, Xuan Lanh, Xuan Loc, Xuan Long, Xuan Phuoc, Xuan Quang, Xuan Son, Xuan Thinh, Xuan Tho
On March 10, 1977, Dong Xuan District merged with Tuy An District and 4 communes: Son Long, Son Xuan, Son Dinh, Phu Mo of Tay Son District to form Xuan An District.[2]
However, on September 22, 1978, Xuan An district was divided into two districts: Tuy An and Dong Xuan, and three communes: Son Dinh, Son Long and Son Xuan were returned to Tay Son district (now Son Hoa and Song Hinh districts).
When it was first separated, Dong Xuan district consisted of 10 communes: Phu Mo, Xuan Canh, Xuan Lanh, Xuan Loc, Xuan Long, Xuan Phuoc, Xuan Quang, Xuan Son, Xuan Thinh, Xuan Tho and Song Cau town.[3]
On March 2, 1979, Da Loc commune was established in the new economic zone of Dong Xuan district.[4]
On September 30, 1981, the Council of Ministers issued Decision No. 100-HDBT[5]. Accordingly:
Divide Xuan Loc commune into 3 communes: Xuan Loc, Xuan Binh and Xuan Hai
Divide Xuan Canh commune into 2 communes: Xuan Canh and Xuan Hoa
Divide Xuan Tho commune into 2 communes: Xuan Tho 1 and Xuan Tho 2
Divide Xuan Son commune into 2 communes: Xuan Son Bac and Xuan Son Nam
Divide Xuan Quang commune into 3 communes: Xuan Quang 1, Xuan Quang 2 and Xuan Quang 3
Establish Xuan Phuong commune including Le Uyen and Trung Trinh villages of Song Cau town and Dan Phu 1, Dan Phu 2 and Phu My villages of Xuan Thinh commune.
From then on, Dong Xuan district included 19 communes: Da Loc, Phu Mo, Xuan Binh, Xuan Canh, Xuan Hai, Xuan Hoa, Xuan Lanh, Xuan Loc, Xuan Long, Xuan Phuoc, Xuan Phuong, Xuan Quang 1, Xuan Quang 2, Xuan Quang 3, Xuan Son Bac, Xuan Son Nam, Xuan Thinh, Xuan Tho 1, Xuan Tho 2 and Song Cau town.
On June 27, 1985, the Council of Ministers issued a decision to divide Dong Xuan district into 2 districts: Dong Xuan and Song Cau as it is today. Dong Xuan district at that time included 10 communes: Da Loc, Phu Mo, Xuan Lanh, Xuan Long, Xuan Phuoc, Xuan Quang 1, Xuan Quang 2, Xuan Quang 3, Xuan Son Bac and Xuan Son Nam.[6]
On April 15, 1986, Xuan Long commune was divided into 2 administrative units: Xuan Long commune and La Hai town (district town of Dong Xuan district).[7]
On June 30, 1989, Phu Yen province was re-established from Phu Khanh province, Dong Xuan district belonged to Phu Yen province, including 1 town and 10 communes, remaining stable until now.[8]
Historically, the name Dong Xuan appeared in Phu Yen very early with the establishment of Phu Yen prefecture. In the 18th century, the Dong Xuan area was the site of battles between the Tay Son and Nguyen dynasties for control of this land. At the end of the 19th century, in the Bau Ben and Suoi Che areas, a struggle took place between the King-Thuong people against the French colonialists who forced them to pay taxes. This place was also the base of the uprisings led by Nguyen Hao Su (Ba Su) and Vo Tru. After the patriotic hero Le Thanh Phuong - leader of the Can Vuong movement - was captured and killed by the enemy, Nguyen Hao Su, a leader of the Can Vuong movement, continued to lead the people to fight the French. In 1892, he was captured by the French and beheaded in An Dan commune, Tuy An. After the failure of the Can Vuong movement, the anti-French movement in Phu Yen flared up again in 1892 under the leadership of Vo Tru and Tran Cao Van in Dong Xuan. Here, the two men gathered forces under the flag "Minh Trai Chu Su" to organize an attack on Phu Yen's provincial capital, Song Cau. Although the uprising failed, Vo Tru was beheaded by the enemy at Tam Giang bridge, but his patriotic example also made the enemy respect him.
On October 5, 1930, in Dong Be village, Xuan Long commune, the first Communist Party cell of Phu Yen was established, and in January 1931, the Provisional Provincial Party Committee of Phu Yen was established in La Hai. During the resistance war against French colonialism, the army and people of Dong Xuan district coordinated with friendly units to fight the enemy in many victorious battles, contributing to the defeat of the enemy's Atlante campaign. During the resistance war against the US, Dong Xuan achieved many resounding victories, bankrupting many enemy campaign plots such as: Defeating the enemy's Hai Yen campaign (in 1952), attacking the Dong Tre commando center, Xuan Phuoc outpost... During the war to defend the Fatherland, Dong Xuan district was awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces.
Dong Xuan is one of the localities in Phu Yen with the most glorious movement to fight against foreign invaders. Currently, Dong Xuan area still preserves many vestiges of the Can Vuong movement, such as the anti-French base of Mr. Nguyen Hao Su in Thach Long Cuong mountain (Ong island), Phu Mo commune, Vo Tru cave in Xuan Lanh commune. The vestige of the establishment of the Communist Party organization in Phu Yen is the house of comrade Phan Luu Thanh, where the conference of all party members was held, declaring the establishment of the first Communist Party cell of Phu Yen on the 5th of