Cabatuan occupies a land area of 7,200 hectares. It lies in the south-western part of the Province of Isabela bounded on the north by the Municipality of Aurora, on the east by the Municipality of Luna, on the west by the Municipality of San Mateo and on the south by the Municipality of Cauayan. Its territorial boundaries are more specifically delineated under Executive Order 293 issued by President Elpidio Quirino on November 5, 1949.

Being a major rice producing town, it is the home of several rice mills and rice traders, dubbed as the Land of the Golden Grains.

The early inhabitants of the vast forest land were the Kalingas who are indigenous to the mountain provinces. These settlers lived on tree houses which they built along the banks of the bountiful and mighty Magat River. These sturdy, dark complexioned, G-stringed, soldier-like people depended on hunting, fishing and a little agriculture and poultry.

In 1912, the pioneering Ilocanos started arriving with their families, relatives and friends. The Ilocanos settled away from the river but the Kalingas considered it an intrusion which later led to the encounters where the Ilocanos used piles of stones to drive away the ferocious Kalingas. The act of throwing stones was called “ambatuan” which later evolved to “cabatuan”. The warring groups eventually became friends through a peace pact led by their respective leaders and the place became known as Cabatuan.

In 1914, Cabatuan was incorporated with the Municipality of Cauayan. Many leaders emerged from the Cabatuan settlers and seeing that they are a political threat to the Cauayan leadership, the Municipal Council of Cauayan in 1948 agreed and endorsed the segregation of Cabatuan from the mother town. Through the initiative of the delegation formed by leaders who hailed from Barrio Cabatuan, Executive Order 293 creating the Municipality of Cabatuan was finally signed by President Elpidio R. Quirino in Malacañang on November 5, 1949. On November 30, 1949, the set of municipal officials appointed by President Quirino took their oath of office signaling the independence of Cabatuan from its mother town.

The land where Cabatuan now nestles was once teeming with vegetation, wildlife and fish, nurtured by the mighty and winding Magat River. Its history started when one of the indigenous people of the mountain provinces settled down in the vast valley of Cagayan where the Apayaos, Dumagats, Gaddangs, Ibanags, Ifugaos, Igorots, Itawes, Palananons and the Yogads were living. This tribe is known as the Kalingas, the name believed to have come from the Ibanag and Gaddang word, which means "headhunters". The Kalinga villages were strategically located along the banks of the Magat River in south-western Isabela near the boundary of Ifugao province, surrounding the locality now known as Sili, Bolinao, Dalig Kalinga (these places are now barangays of Aurora town) and Subasta (now a sitio of Barangay Saranay in Cabatuan). The early Cabatuanenses were generally known to be medium in height, with dark complexion and lissome with high nose bridges. Physically, they were very sturdy and well-built so that their war-like bearing feature made them more like soldiers. They lived on tree-houses and depended on hunting, fishing and a little of poultry and agriculture. The Kalingas were believed to be the descendants of the second wave of Malay who came to the Islands from Borneo. These pagans were headed by several able leaders like: Ronsan and Ngolan (both from Sili in Aurora town), Balindan, Melad and Gombi (from Bolinao, also in Aurora town), Tullayao Bayudoc (from Subasta, Saranay in Cabatuan) and the grand old chieftain Materig (also from Sili in Aurora town).

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Wikipedia