Abstract The stability of ecosystems in high mountain canyon areas is poor, and the interaction between humans and the land is complex, making these ecosystems more vulnerable to destruction. Quantitatively assessing the ecosystem service value (ESV) in high mountain canyon areas and revealing its spatiotemporal evolution patterns and driving factors play a crucial role in the construction of regional ecological barriers and the assurance of ecological security. This study focuses on the Upper Minjiang River as the research area, using the InVEST model and the Equivalent Factor Method to estimate ESV. This combination aims to address the inadequacy of the Equivalent Factor Method in reflecting the variability of ESV across different regions, and the sensitivity of the InVEST model to data changes that results in insufficient accuracy of ESV assessments. By harnessing spatial au-tocorrelation and the geodetector method, we unravel the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and driving factors of ESV. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the ESVs estimated by the two estimations increased by 31.28% and 22.47%, respectively, both indicating that the eco-environment quality of the upper Minjiang River has been continuously improved. (2) When Moran’s I was greater than 0.5 (p