[citation needed] The origin of the city dates back to the Late Horizon period, between 1,000 and 1,500 B.C, larger settlements were located in the valleys of the present provinces of Jaén, Bagua and San Ignacio.

In the valley of Jaén there lies the great archaeological site Montegrande, with the presence of mounds and pottery styles of Pre-Chavin cultures and the Turuco, immense pre-Columbian cemetery located in Bellavista, Ingatambo in Pomahuaca.

The chronicler Pedro Cieza de León says that the Inca king Huayna Capac attempted to conquer the Bracamoros (Indians), as they called the Jivaros, but was defeated and fled.

The historian Cabello de Balboa claims that Huáscar or rather his brother Huanca Auqui, envying the success of Atahualpa in Quijos, he sent Pakamuros up against two expeditions.

Jijón and Caamaño (historians) describe the Bracamoros (or Pakamuros) as Jivaro Indians of strong physical characteristics and an independent, warlike and enterprising spirit.

By the year 1607, the location of the city of Jaén de Bracamoros had changed four times, before finally settling just north of the Marañón-Huancabamba junction in the small valley of Tomependa.

This Jaén de Bracamoros grew into an important center of outreach and missionary work, and was appointed the capital of the district by the Council of the Indies.

The most important industry at the time were metal workshops, where tools such as machetes and axes, which were vital in a region where you had to continually cut down trees and branches, were forged.

However, it has not traditionally been a popular visitor destination, mainly on account of its distance from large population centres, being a five-hour drive from Chiclayo, the erstwhile nearest airport, and 18 hours by bus from Lima.