The province has an area of 8,065.8 square kilometers and population of 857,818 inhabitants (as of 2008) The province is bordered by the Laotian Khammouane Province to the west, the North Pacific Ocean to the east, Hà Tĩnh Province to the north and Quảng Trị Province to the south. Historically, this region belonged to Văn Lang and later the kingdom of Champa. Later it was claimed by both the Đại Việt and Champa and officially annexed into Đại Việt by Lý Thường Kiệt, a Lý dynasty general (under the reign of Lý Thánh Tông).