Yamanakako is located in the far southeastern corner of Yamanashi Prefecture, surrounding Lake Yamanaka.

Much of the village area is protected forest, extending to the base of Mount Fuji, which is also visible from many locations.

[2] Per Japanese census data,[5] the population of Yamanakako has recently plateaued after a long period of growth.

During the Edo period, all of Kai Province was tenryō territory under direct control of the Tokugawa shogunate.

With the establishment of the modern municipalities system in the early Meiji period in 1875, the village of Nakano was created within Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture by the merger of Yamanaka and Hirano hamlets.