The area of the modern city of Kishiwada was within ancient
Izumi Province. The city has been settled since ancient times, and has numerous
kofun burial mounds including the
Mayuyama Kofun. During the
Nanboku-chō period,
Kusunoki Masahige assigned his general Wada Haruji to govern an area called "Kishi" in Izumi Province in 1337. The Kishiwada "shōen", or landed estate, appears in documents from around 1400. The settlement developed into a
castle town during the
Sengoku period, as it occupied a very strategic location, approximately half way in-between the cities of
Osaka and
Wakayama and just south of the port of
Sakai. It is located on the Kishu Kaido, the main route connecting the capital area of Japan with
Kii Province, and its coastal location was important for transportation from the eastern
Shikoku to
Settsu Province and
Kyoto.
Kishiwada Castle, was rebuilt by
Koide Hidemasa at its present site in 1597. Under the
Tokugawa shogunate it was the center of
Kishiwada Domain, which was ruled by the Okabe clan from 1640 to the
Meiji Restoration. In 1703, the city began its Danjiri festival. The town of Kishiwada was official founded on within Hine District with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On April 1, 1896, the area became part of
Sennan District, Osaka. It was promoted to city status on November 1, 1922 as the 87th city to be founded in Japan and the 3rd in Osaka. On April 1, 2002, Kishiwada became a
Special city with increased local autonomy. ==Government==