Prehistory to the Kofun period
Some of the earliest signs of habitation in the area of Osaka were found at the Morinomiya remains with its shell mounds, including sea oysters and buried human skeletons from the 5th�6th centuries BC. It is believed that what is today the Uehonmachi area consisted of a peninsular land, with an inland sea in the east. During the Yayoi period, permanent habitation on the plains grew as rice farming became popular.
By the Kofun period, Osaka developed into a hub port connecting the region to the western part of Japan. The large numbers, and the increasing size, of tomb mounds found in the plains of Osaka are seen as evidence of political-power concentration, leading to the formation of a state.
Asuka and Nara period
In 645, Emperor K?toku built his palace, the Naniwa Nagara-Toyosaki Palace in Osaka, making this area the capital (Naniwa-ky?). The place that became the modern city was by this time called Naniwa. This name, and derived forms, are still in use for districts in central Osaka such as Naniwa and Namba. Although the capital was moved to Asuka (in Nara Prefecture today) in 655, Naniwa remained a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture), Korea, and China.
In 744, Naniwa once again became the capital by order of Emperor Sh?mu. Naniwa ceased to be the capital in 745, when the Imperial Court moved back to Heij?-ky? (now Nara). The seaport function was gradually taken over by neighboring lands by the end of Nara period, but it remained a lively center of river, channel, and land transportation between Heian-ky? (Kyoto today) and other destinations.
Heian to Edo period
In 1496, the J?do Shinsh? Buddhist sect set up their headquarters in the heavily fortified Ishiyama Hongan-ji on the site of the old Naniwa imperial palace. Oda Nobunaga started a siege of the temple in 1570. After a decade, the monks finally surrendered, and the temple
