Ongole was originally known as Vangalaprolu, Vangavolu and Vangolu after the surname of an astrologer in the court of an Addanki chief. It was part of Punginadu during the time of Ikshavakus, and was in the area of Kanma (or Karmrashtra) during the Pallava period.
The town's history goes back to the era of the Mauryas and Satavahanas who ruled most of what is now present day Andhra Pradesh. A few inscriptions dating to the Satavahana period were found in a village called China Ganjam, near Ongole. After the Satavahanas, this place came into the limelight again during the Kakatiya dynasty, when the nearby towns of Motupalli and Voda Revu served as major seaports. Ongole is also mentioned in the inscriptions of the Pallava rulers of the 3rd and 4th Century A.D. The City was also ruled by Krishna Deva Raya
