Möng Mit was founded in 1238. Thirteen villages of the Mogok Stone Tract were given to Möng Mit in 1420 as a reward for helping
Yunnan raid
Chiang Mai. In 1465, Nang Han Lung, the daughter-in-law of the
Saopha (
Sawbwa in
Burmese) of Möng Mit, sent ruby as separate tribute from
Hsenwi and succeeded in keeping Hsenwi's former possessions until 1484, when Mogok was ceded to the
Burmese kings. Not until 1597 was the Saopha of Möng Mit forced to exchange Mogok and Kyatpyin with
Tagaung. They were formally annexed by royal
edict. In 1542, the Shan ruler of
Ava,
Thohanbwa, marched with the Saophas of Möng Mit,
Möng Yang,
Hsipaw,
Möng Kawng,
Man Maw, and
Yawnghwe to come to the aid of
Prome against the Burmese, but they were defeated by
Bayinnaung. In 1544,
Hkonmaing, the Saopha of Onbaung-Hsipaw and Thohanbwa's successor on the throne of Ava, attempted to regain Prome with the help of Möng Mit, Möng Yang,
Möng Nai, Hsenwi, Man Maw and Yawnghwe, but was defeated by King
Tabinshwehti.
British rule The Saopha of Möng Mit had just died at the time of the
British annexation in 1885, leaving a minor as heir, and the administration at Möng Mit was weak. It was included under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of the Northern Division instead of the Superintendent of the Northern Shan States. A pretender named Hkam Leng came to claim the title, but was rejected by the ministers. The
Burmese prince Saw Yan Naing, who had risen up against the British, fled to the area and joined forces with Hkam Leng, and caused a great deal of trouble in 1888–89 for the
Hampshire Regiment stationed at Momeik.
Sao Hkun Hkio, Saopha of Möng Mit, was one of the seven Saophas on the Executive Committee of the Shan State Council formed after the first
Panglong Conference in March 1946. On 16 January 1947, they sent two memoranda, whilst a
Burmese delegation headed by
Aung San was in
London, to the British Labour government of
Clement Attlee demanding equal political footing as Burma proper and full
autonomy of the Federated Shan States. He was not one of the six Saophas who signed the Panglong Agreement on 12 February 1947. The
Cambridge-educated Sao Hkun Hkio became Burma's longest-serving
Foreign Minister after
independence in 1948 until the
military coup of
Ne Win in 1962, with only short interruptions, the longest of which was from 1958 to 1960 during Ne Win's
caretaker government.
After independence The Shweli river valley and the hills around Momeik and Mogok had been strongholds of the
Communist Party of Burma (CPB) as early as the 1950s, but only in 1968 did the 1st Brigade of the CPB People's Army regain control of the area, briefly capturing Momeik in 1977. Their plan to strike west to the plains north of Mandalay was thwarted by clashes with the
Shan State Army and the
Palaung State Liberation Army as well as
government military offensives. The Shan State Army-North's 3rd Brigade has been active in Momeik, Kyaukme, Hsipaw,
Namtu and Lashio. It reached a
cease-fire agreement with the
Burmese military government (SLORC) in 1989, and its activities have been severely curtailed. In 2005, an attempt by the
Shan State Army-South based near the
Thai border to fill the vacuum left by the cease-fire in the north was thwarted by the
Burmese army. During the
Myanmar Civil War, the town was temporarily taken by the
Kachin Independence Army but retaken by the
Tatmadaw on 2 January 2024. The junta counter-offensive destroyed large parts of the town and the fighting left scores of civilians dead. The
Ta'ang National Liberation Army launched a renewed offensive on the town in July 2024, as part of their resumption of
Operation 1027. The TNLA withdrew from Momeik after a China-brokered ceasefire on 29 October 2025. ==Economy==