Several of the groups (Geko, Geba, Padaung, Yinbaw) belong to Kayan, a subgroup in region of Karenni.

They were independent until British rule in Burma, and had feudal ties to the Burmese kingdom.

The states bordered the Shan States of Mong Pai, Hsatung and Mawkmai to the north, Thailand to the east, the Papun district of Lower Burma to the south, and a stretch of the Karen Hills inhabited by the Bre and various other small tribes to the west.

[1] During British rule, the Karenni had a garrison of military police, which was stationed at the village of Loikaw.

[1] The British government formally recognised and guaranteed the independence of the Karenni States in an 1875 treaty with Burmese king Mindon Min, by which both parties recognised the area as belonging neither to Burma nor to Great Britain.