During the Yayoi period, as excavated remains of paddy fields and agricultural tools show, rice cultivation became established and villages began to be built in Nara Prefecture. Metalworking also began, and huge villages protected by moats, like the Karako Kagi site, emerged.

In the Kofun period, the Yamato region flourished as the center of the Yamato Central Authority from the third century onward, and huge keyhole-shaped mounded tombs were built. In the fifth century, the "Five Kings of Wa" who sent envoys to China appeared, and construction of the largest keyhole-shaped mounded tombs moved to the Osaka Plain. Additionally, with immigration mainly from the Korean Peninsula, horse breeding and production of crafts like ironware and ceramics blossomed. Later, in the sixth century, the large burial mounds became smaller, and small burial mounds were built in clusters as the structures of society changed, and transitioned toward the next age.

During the Asuka and Nara periods, the capital was located in Yamato, and it moved from Asuka to Fujiwara, and then to Heijō. During the Asuka and Nara periods, Japan as a whole embraced Buddhism. Along with this faith, the latest technology, culture, and art from China and the Korean Peninsula were also brought to Japan. In the eighth century, the burial system changed from mounded tombs to cremation, mainly among nobles and high-ranking officials, but this was only temporary, and the practice did not become permanently established.

During the Heian period, the capital was moved to Heian (modern Kyoto), but Yamato flourished as the “southern capital,” and it became popular among the nobility to visit Yoshino and the Kinpu mountains. During the medieval period, Yamato prospered as a town of temples and shrines, as well as a town of commerce and industry, with Kōfukuji Temple at its center.