According to
Durán in 1524, Hueyapan was founded by people from
Xochimilco around 902 CE, conquered by the
Aztecs under
Moctezuma II and in 1521, during the
Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, it fell to the
Gonzalo de Sandoval, assisted by female
Conquistador María Estrada. Between 1563 and 1573 the
Dominican order constructed a convent dedicated to
Santo Domingo in Hueyapan. The Convent is now an ex-convent functioning as the town's Catholic church. Fray
Diego Durán stayed here for a while and is thought to have compiled much of the information for his Crónica here. In colonial times Hueyapan was part of the
encomienda originally given to the Estrada family, but was later laid directly under the Spanish throne. Until recently, access to Hueyapan from other communities was limited, but in the past twenty years infrastructure has made transport to and from Hueyapan much easier. When Morelos became a state in 1869, Hueyapan was part of the municipality of
Ocuituco, and then passed to
Tetela del Volcan in 1937. was the first time a citizen of Hueyapan had been elected to this position, and was also the first time a local president came from a party other than the
PRI. In 2012 Javier Montes became the second municipal president of Tetela del Volcan from the community of Hueyapan. Hueyapan was devastated in the
September 19, 2017 earthquake. Although no deaths were reported, between 80% and 90% of the homes were damaged, some 30% of which could not be repaired, and there were fallen rocks and damaged bridges on both highways that lead to the town. In response to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, Hueyapan temporarily blocked the entrances to the community in April 2020. Eight caseshad been reported as of December 27, 2020. A long-standing conflict between the "Concejo Municipal" and the "Concejo Mayor" led to violence on March 8-10, 2021. Two police vehicles were sequestered in
Cuautla on March 8, which were then driven to Cuernavaca the next day. Police and dissidents battled in Cuernavaca, and councillor Lilia González Cortés was kidnapped and beaten in an attempt to get her to resign. Several police officers were wounded, residents were arrested, and lawyer Nava Espinosa, who had been beaten outside of his office, went missing. Later that evening, 16 people were arrested in
Tepoztlán. Espinosa was still missing on March 10. ==Monastery==