The town's history goes back to the era of the Mauryas, and Satavahanas who ruled most of present day Andhra Pradesh. A few inscriptions dating to the Satavahana period were found in a village called China Ganjam, near Ongole. After the Satavahanas, this place came into the limelight again during the Kakatiya dynasty. At that time the nearby towns of Motupalli and Voda Revu served as major seaports.