Shunchang (Shunchang County, Yanping Prefecture in ancient times) was established in the fourth year of Changxing in the late Tang Dynasty (933). According to the Records of Yanping Prefecture in Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty, "Shunchang was named after its initial obedience. It has been used since then.".

Shunchang County is located in the northwest of Fujian Province. The county borders Jianyang, Jianou, Nanping, Shaxian, Jiangle and Shaowu. The original total area was 1480 square kilometers. After Jianxi County was dissolved and merged into Shunchang in 1970, the county area increased to 1985 square kilometers, accounting for 7.5% of the total area of Nanping. Shunchang County covers an area of 1985 square kilometers. In 1990, the county had jurisdiction over 3 towns, 11 townships, 4 neighborhood committees and 129 village committees.

On October 9, 2020, it was awarded the title of the fourth batch of national ecological civilization construction demonstration cities and counties by the Ministry of Ecological Environment. According to the data of the seventh population census, as of 0:00 on November 1, 2020, the permanent resident population of Shunchang County was 179064. In 2020, Shunchang County will achieve a GDP of 12.833 billion yuan, down 4.3%.