There are 13 primary springs, but they seldom flow due to pumping demands on the Edwards Aquifer.

In addition to the association of groundwater availability with this locale along the Balcones Fault, the area is also considered an ecological dividing line for occurrence of some species; for example, the California Fan Palm, Washingtonia filifera occurs only at or west of San Pedro Springs, i.e. Balcones Fault zone.

Later, a band of Coahuiltecan Indians, the Payaya people, lived near the springs and called their village Yanaguana ("place of refreshing waters").

In 1718 Governor Martín de Alarcón established a settlement he called Villa de Béxar near the headwaters of San Pedro Creek, but civilian settlement did not materialize.

In the 1730s, an acequia was built to carry water from the springs toward the city for irrigation and household use.