he municipality of San Vicente is located along the coastal shores of the province of Ilocos  Sur near the South China Sea.  It was formerly a district of Vigan, the seat of Spanish influence and authority of the north.  This small locality served as one of its peripheral vanguards in its northern flank across the navigable Banaoang river which separated the Ciudad (Vigan) proper from its districts.  Because of its strategic location, guarding the northwestern approach of the famed Villa Fernandina its evangelization was pursued with zeal and devotion by the Augustinian Missionaries to strengthen the faith of the inhabitants.

As a district of Vigan which was formerly called Barangay Tuanong, it had its own representative in the municipal council.  In 1911, because of the growth of its population and its distance from Vigan, it was created as a regular municipality.

How the municipality got its name, a version of a story was told this way:  There was once an old fisherman who went out fishing in the sea, but instead of fish, a graven image was fished out with his fishing net.  The image was brought to the church.  Since the graven image was not identified, it was later named after the man’s name Vicente, and the town was named after him to foster his memory.

It has 7 barangays with a total land area of 1,186.25 hectares and a population of 9,848 on the 1995 census.  It is a sixth class municipality.