Tanay was founded as a separate pueblo (town) in 1606 under the name "Monte de Tan-ay".

The town was the headquarters of the second military area of the Philippine Revolutionary Government under General Emilio Aguinaldo.

And for a brief period between 1899 and 1900, Tanay served as the capital of the then Morong Province after Philippine–American War broke out and the American forces invaded the lake towns and captured Antipolo.

General Agustin Marking is buried in a private cemetery by the road overlooking his son's farm in Sampaloc.

In October 2003, deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada was transferred to a rest home in Sampaloc, a mountain barangay.

He remained under house arrest until he was given executive clemency by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

It contains portions of the Sierra Madre Mountains and is bordered by Antipolo in the north-west, Baras, Morong and Teresa in the west, General Nakar (Quezon Province) in the east, and Pililla, Santa Maria (Laguna province) as well as the lake Laguna de Bay in the south.

The roots of the Sambalic languages can be traced back to Tanay, where the etymologically similar Sinuana or Remontado Dumagat is still spoken in villages in the Sierra Madre mountains between Sampaloc and General Nakar, Quezon.

Certain issues and debates from different sectors and influential names about the construction arose, and still now under public consultation and hearing.