In 214 BC, Chaozhou was an undeveloped and named part of Nanhai Commandery of the Qin Dynasty. In 331 during the Eastern Han Dynasty, Haiyang was established as a part of Dongguan Commandery. Dongguan Commandery was renamed Yi'an Commandery in 413. The commandery became a prefecture in 590 in the early Sui Dynasty; first as Xun Prefecture, then as Chao Prefecture in the following year. In 1914, the Republic of China government combined Chao and Xun prefectures into Chaoxun Prefecture or Chaoxun Circuit. For a short while in the Sui and early Tang Dynasties, Haiyang District was called Yi'an District. The name remained Haiyang until 1914, when it was renamed to Chao'an County to avoid ambiguity with the Haiyang County of Shandong Province.