legendary founder of the first Vietnamese state—Van Lang (the Land of the Tattooed Men)—probably located north of what is now Hanoi.

Existing archaeological evidence does not support the Vietnamese ancient texts that credit Hung Vuong with establishing, in 2879 BC, the Hong Bang dynasty, which is said to have survived for 2,621 years. According to available data, the earliest Vietnamese kingdom originated between 1000 and 500 BC.

Some of the ancient texts describe Hung Vuong's domain as stretching southward from Dong Dinh to present-day central Vietnam; others indicate that his sovereignty may have centred only around the present site of Hue. According to the written records, Hung Vuong, whose name means Strong Leader, or Strong Elder, was the son of the mythical Lac Long Quang. He divided his kingdom into administrative districts and assigned civil servants and military officers to govern them.