Mogami clan
The area of present-day was Kaneyama part of ancient Dewa Province and during the Nara Period and early Heian period was an important fortified point on the road connecting Akita Castle on the Sea of Japan with Tagajo on the Pacific Ocean. During the Sengoku period, the area was under the control of the Mogami clan, who built Kaneyama Castle on what is now the center of the modern town. During the Edo period, the town was a post town on the Ushū Kaidō connecting Edo with what is now Aomori. The mountain passes north of the town center were a battlefield in the Boshin War of the Meiji restoration. After the start of the Meiji period, the area became part of Mogami District, Yamagata Prefecture. The village of Kaneyama was established on April 1, 1889 with the establishment of the modern municipalities system and was raised to town status on January 1, 1925.