 The modern city of Shūnan was founded on April 21, 2003, by the merger of the cities of Tokuyama and Shinnan'yō, the town of Kumage (from Kumage District), and the town of Kano (from Tsuno District).Its name is derived from the first character (周) of the name of the former Suō Province (周防国), and the character for south (南), reflecting its location, comprising much of the southern part of the old province.The city is bordered in the west by the cities of Yamaguchi and Hōfu, in the east by Iwakuni, in the southeast by Hikari and Kudamatsu, and in the north by Yoshika, Shimane Prefecture.