Due to relatively religious culture of the Gorontaloan people and its history with Islam, the city is sometimes referred to as "Porch of Medina".

One theory suggest that it was shortened version of Huluntalangio, name of a kingdom in the area which became Hulontalo.

Islamic propagation in the region around the today's city started between 14th and 15th centuries, started with the period under the ruler named Sultan Amai who married a princess from nearby Palase Gomonjolo Kingdom, who asked the Sultan Amai previously to convert to Islam as part of the marriage arrangement in 1525.

[8] Native rule in this area ended with transfer of all Ternate's Sulawesi possessions to the Dutch East India Company (VOC) under a treaty which became effective on 11 May 1677.

This transfer of possession includes Gorontalo and its neighbouring kingdoms in the northern part of Sulawesi.

[6] On 1824, the area around Gorontalo was merged with Minahasan region to become an afdeeling which is led by an assistant resident.

On 1911, again another administrative change took place, this time the pohala was reorganized and became divided into three onder afdeelingen, which are Kwandang, Boalemo, and Gorontalo.

At this time, Gorontalo region was divided into five districts including Limboto and Bone.

This change did not last long and later in 1922 it was divided and reorganized again into three afdeelingen, which are Gorontalo, Boalemo, and Buol.

[6] Just before the invasion of the region by Empire of Japan during World War II, a revolt broke out led by Nani Wartabone who declared Indonesian independence on 23 January 1942 under Merah Putih (Red and White) movement, around three years before it would be formally declared again by Sukarno.

[9] However, the revolt was later suppressed by occupying Imperial Japanese Navy who assumed control of Sulawesi and East Indonesia.

[10] After World War II and the aftermath of the Indonesian National Revolution, Gorontalo became part of State of East Indonesia as a neoswapraja together with Mongondow and Buol.

When State of East Indonesia was dissolved in 1950, Gorontalo became part of North Sulawesi region under then-Sulawesi Province.

On 1954, neoswapraja Mongondow was separated from North Sulawesi, leaving only Buol and Gorontalo as part of it.

[6] During Permesta rebellion, the city hosts Indonesian military radio used to persuade the rebels to surrender.

This electoral district sends 8 representatives to the provincial parliament which has total seats of 45.

The growth has been consistently being the highest in the province except in 2020 on which the city's GDRP briefly shrank 0.02% in 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

[20] Mining as a sector is also relatively small in the city, with only 29.971 hectares allocated for it within Hulonthalangi District.

The ringroad has length of 46.2 kilometers which connect Jalaluddin Airport to Gorontalo Port, bypassing most of the city's urban area.

[32] Public transport in the city consist of mostly angkot and auto rickshaw locally called bentor.

[36] However, the service gradually decline and eventually stopped during COVID-19 pandemic, leaving the city with no urban bus system as of 2024.