Hida existed as a political entity before the Ritsuryō system and the implementation of the Taihō Code of the Nara period.

By the Nara period, the area was already so noted for its carpentry that the official court position of Hida-no-takumi (飛騨工) consisting of two craftsmen from Hida Province was established.

During the Heian and Kamakura period, Hida's extensive forests were a major source of timber and metals for other provinces.

After the Honnō-ji Incident, Kanamori Nagachika, one of Oda Nobunaga's and later Toyotomi Hideyoshi's generals, was sent to occupy Hida Province and became its daimyō.

His heirs ruled Takayama for six generations, until Kanamori Yoritoki was transferred to Kaminoyama Domain in Dewa Province in 1692.

From 1692 until the end of the Edo period, Hida Province was tenryō territory ruled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate.

Initially, this was a daikon-level position located at a daikansho built on the site of the shimoyashiki of Takayama Castle and was held by 11 men from 1692 to 1765.