Lantian County was first founded in 379 BCE, and was named after the nearby Lantian Mountain (simplified Chinese: 蓝田山; traditional Chinese: 藍田山; pinyin: Lántián Shān), located 30 kilometres (19 mi) to the southeast of the current county seat.

[4] Lantian County was first established in 379 BCE, in present-day Huaxu [zh], 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of its current seat.

[4] Numerous ancient Chinese texts, such as the Taiping Huanyu Ji and the Rites of Zhou state that the mountain was renown for its jade.

[4] Upon its restoration, it was placed under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Commandery (Chinese: 京兆郡; pinyin: Jīngzhào Jùn).

[4] Upon the restoration of Lantian County in 573 CE, the county's seat of government was moved to the ancient city of Yaoliu (simplified Chinese: 峣柳城; traditional Chinese: 嶢柳城; pinyin: Yáoliǔ Chéng), located in present-day Languan Subdistrict [zh].

[4] During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Lantian County was under the jurisdiction of Xi'an Fu [zh] (Chinese: 西安府; pinyin: Xī'ān Fǔ).

[4] In 1913, following the establishment of the Republic of China, the county was placed under the jurisdiction of Guanzhong Circuit [zh].