According to legend, the Aztec emperor Axayacatl conquered the area, then known as Tenati-Tlan, "behind the walls", which had by that time been populated for a few thousand years, and founded Tonatiuh-Co, which had the same borders as the current town.

The region had been originally populated by the Matlatzincas, but at the time of the Spanish Conquest the area belonged to Tlatoani Axayacatzin of Cuahnahuac (present-day Cuernavaca).

In 1521 Hernán Cortés sent Andrés de Castro to keep the local peoples from supporting Cuauhtémoc and to subdue the area.

Don Gaspar Alonso, a conquistador, forsook his heritage and sided with the natives of Tonatico, taking on the name of Tlachcolcatcal or Tlacatecutli.

The miracles this statue was credited with led to conflicts with the nearby town of Ixtapan de la Sal.

[1] During the Mexican War of Independence, both Hermenegildo Galeana and Pedro Ascencio de Alquisiras were active in this area.

In 1870, the town became the seat of the current municipality of Tonatico, though the territory it then governed was only about half the size of its historical extent.

[2] As the municipal seat, the town of Tonatico has governing jurisdiction over the following communities: La Audiencia, Ojo de Agua, La Puerta de Santiago, El Rincón, Salinas, San Bartolo, Los Amates (San José de los Amates), San Miguel, El Terrero, Tlacopan, La Vega, El Zapote and Colixtlahuacán.

The Salto de Zumpantitlán waterfall is nearby, along with the Tenancingo, San Geronimo and Taplalla rivers.

Another major crop is onions, which are sown on 750 hectares, and on a smaller scale can be found cucumbers, beans, tomatoes, chiles, alfalfa and flowers.