Although the area around Fukuchiyama has a basin which is topographically closed and surrounded by mountains, its roads were developed long ago by people who have lived in this area from at least the Jomon period, allowing Fukuchiyama City to flourish as an important place for transportation connecting areas along the Japan Sea and in the Sanin Region with Keihanshin.
盆地という山々に囲まれた閉鎖的な地形をしているにもかかわらず、福知山周辺地域では少なくとも縄文時代から人が住んでいたことなどから古くから道路が整備され、日本海沿岸、山陰地方と京阪神方面をつなぐ交通の要所として栄えた市である。