Human settlement in the Ligurian Prealps is very ancient and left significant traces in various places,[4] also thanks to a number of natural caves which eased the conservation of prehistoric remains and artifacts.

Before the Industrial Revolution and the spreading of motorized traffic the area was characterized by the presence of small rural settlements alongside permanently inhabited villages.

[9] During the post-war period, like in other low-altitude mountain zones of Italy, Ligurian Prealps suffered depopulation[10] and woodland spread in many former cultivated areas which had been abandoned.

This increase in woodland is seen as one of the main reasons of the diffusion of wolves in the Ligurian Prealps starting from their refuge areas in the Central Apennine.

The W border of the chain is the Colle di Nava not just according to the SOIUSA, but also for the CAI, as stated in its volume Alpi Liguri (Guida dei Monti d'Italia, 1981).