上甘棠村在永州与广西交界处的千年湘桂古道(潇贺古道)边，谢水与沐水汇合处，是湖南省迄今为止发现的创建年代最早、保存最完全、延续时间最长的村落。
在漫长的岁月里，周氏一族从这里走出了载于族谱的101位七品以上的官员。儒学为宗，耕读传家，上甘棠绵延的文脉和周氏严谨的家风，使这一大族在僻远的湘南小镇长盛不衰。而这一族人经年累月苦心经营的村落代代相承、纵横有序，被喻为“千年古村”。
上甘棠村于2007年被建设部、国家文物局公布为全国历史文化名村，2012年被住建部、文化和旅游部、财政部列入中国传统村落。上甘棠村古建筑群、月陂亭摩崖石刻先后于2006年、2013年被国务院公布为全国重点文物保护单位。
Shanggantang Village is at the border between Yongzhou and Guangxi along the thousand-year-old Xiang-Gui Ancient Road (Xiao-He Ancient Road), where Xieshui and Mushui converge. It is the village with the earliest founding date, the most complete preservation and the longest continuation time found so far in Hunan Province.
Over the long years, the Zhou clan has produced 101 officials from here, as listed in the genealogy. Confucianism is the mainstay of the family, farming and reading have been passed on to the whole family. The continuous cultural lineage of Shanggantang and the strict family style of the Zhou Clan have enabled this large clan to flourish in the remote town of Xiangnan. The village, which has been managed by this clan over the years, has been characterized as a "thousand-year-old village" because of its orderly succession from one generation to the next.
Shanggantang Village was announced as a National Famous Historical and Cultural Village by the Ministry of Construction and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage in 2007. In 2012, it was listed in the Traditional Villages of China by the Ministry of Housing and Construction, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and the Ministry of Finance. The ancient architectural complex of Shanggantang Village and the Yuebei Pavilion Cliff Rock Carving were announced by the State Council as national key cultural relics protection units in 2006 and 2013.
