Kashiwara is located about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from central Osaka on the Yamato River,which separates it from neighboring Fujiidera.

The northwestern part of the city is relatively flat, but the terrain rises to the east where the Ikoma Mountains and Mount Kongō form the border with Nara Prefecture.

Remains dating back to the Japanese Paleolithic have been found, indicating many thousands of years of continuous settlement.

During the Edo Period, the area was mostly tenryō territory directly under control of the Tokugawa shogunate due to its strategic location.

[4] Kashiwara has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 16 members.

The modern economy is centered on light manufacturing and the city is also increasingly becoming a commuter town for the Osaka metropolis.