AnlongVeng is best known for two historical reasons. It was the last stronghold of the Khmer Rouge to come under government control in 1998 and the final resting place of Pol Pot.
The Dângrêk Mountains were used as a base by the Khmer Rouge when they fought against the Khmer Republic led by general Lon Nol.
After the end of the Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia and the withdrawal of the Vietnamese army, the Khmer Rouge rebuilt their former bases in the Dangrek mountain range area, along the border of Cambodia. AnlongVeng became for a while the main "capital" of the Khmer Rouge. In the 1990s the Khmer Rouge still controlled AnlongVeng, where there was one of the first "Killing Fields" after the fall of "Democratic Kampuchea".
There is a still not excavated site in a forest with landmines in the Dângrêk Mountains, located about 6 km out of AnlongVeng where 3,000 people were allegedly killed by the Khmer Rouge for having become "corrupted" as late as between 1993 and 1997. These executions were carried out during Ta Mok's leadership in the area.
Prime-minister Hun Sen's Historical Restoration Initiative circular (Dec 2001) called for the site at AnlongVeng to become a memorial and tourist site in time for the Visit Cambodia year in 2003. The town is seen by the government as a useful stopping point for tours from SiemRiep to the 11th century temples at PreahVihear. The site has had minor tourist developments including museums, hotels and a proposed casino
