The township was first established and settled in November 1871 when the Superintendent of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Lt. Col. T.H. Lewin ordered his Assistant Mr. Crouch and 150 soldiers from the Frontier Battalion to build a fort at Tlabung which is to serve the Battalion Headquarters of the Southern Column of the Lushai Expedition to rescue a young girl named Mary Winchester from the Lushai Chief Bengkhuaia. It was made a part of the South Lushai Hills on 1 April 1898, while it was part of the Chittagong Hill Tracts earlier. It became a flourishing trade center during 1860-70 when Mizo in north and south had less knowledge of commerce. It was used as the main river port to import goods from what is now Bangladesh through Chittagong city. It had an old fort constructed during British time at the advice of Lt. Col. T.H. Lewin. British Troops and missionaries used this route to reach Mizoram during the Colonial days. It used to take 5 days to reach from Chittagong to Tlabung, a distance of about 90 kilometers after which they would travel another 35 kilometers to reach Lunglei.