According to the Hùng kings narrative, the eighteen Hùng kings belonged to the Hong Bang dynasty (c. 2879-258 BCE) that ruled over the northern part of modern Vietnam in antiquity.
Their progenitors were Dragon Lord Lạc and his consort Fairy Âu Cơ who produced a sac containing one hundred eggs from which one hundred sons emerged. Dragon Lord Lạc preferred to live in the sea, and Fairy Âu Cơ preferred the mountains.
The two separated with half of the sons following each parent. The most illustrious of the sons became the first Hùng king who ruled Van Lang, the realm of all the descendants of Dragon and Fairy Âu Cơ who became the Vietnamese people, from his capital in modern Phu Tho province.