Kōshū Kaidō
The area around present day Uenohara was heavily settled in the Jōmon period, and numerous Jōmon sites have been found within city limits. However, there are fewer Yayoi period sites. During the Nara period "ritsuryo" organization of Kai Province, the area came under Tsuru County. From the middle of the Kamakura period, much of the province came under the control of the Takeda clan, although as a border area adjacent to the holdings of the Uesugi clan and the Odawara Hōjō clan, it was the location of many skirmishes and battles. During the Edo period, all of Kai Province was "tenryō" territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate. During this period, the Kōshū Kaidō, one of the Edo Five Routes, passed through Uenohara, which had four of the 45 post stations on that route. The area was also a noted center for sericulture.