Although the exact founding date of Ortahisar is unknown, Hibe Dede, an Uzbek Turk, and his eight siblings came from Khorasan and settled in Ortahisar during the migration from Central Asia to Anatolia starting from the beginning of the 11th century.

This family built nine separate dwellings for themselves by developing the ready-made cavities around the castle located in the middle of the town and carving additional places. The nine siblings constitute a large part of the current Ortahisar population.

It is understood from the researches and historical documents made in the Cappadocia region that the Cappadocia region is one of the settlements inhabited since early periods. (3500 B.C.)

Centers such as Alacahoyuk, Yazilikaya, Bogazkale, Hattusa, Alisar, Kulhoyuk, Cengeltepe, Kultepe, Erkilet, Karahoyuk, Kanesh Acemhoyuk are the oldest settlement and civilization centers determined as Cappadocia in the old geography. Ortahisar, one of the heirs of these centers in the new geography, holds an important place with its historical ruins and natural features belonging to past periods.

Ortahisar town came under the rule of the Hittites in 1500 B.C., the Phrygians in 1200 B.C., the Lycians in 657 B.C., and the Persians for a while, and the Romans in 27 B.C. It passed under Byzantine rule with the transformation of Eastern Rome into Byzantium in 395 A.D. It is observed that it remained under this rule until the second half of the 10th century A.D.

With the Victory of Manzikert in 1071 A.D., a large part of Anatolia and the entire Cappadocia region passed under Turkish rule permanently. Within fifty years following 1071, the Cappadocia region, along with a large part of Anatolia, came under the administration of the Danishmend Principality established by Danishmend Ahmet Gazi, the first Turkish rule in the region. With this period, Turks and Christians in the region began to live side by side in peace.

The Cappadocia region passed into the hands of the Seljuks in 1175, and after the Mongol invasion, it came under the rule of the Eretna Principality and the Karamanids Principality. The first municipal building of Ortahisar, which became a town in 1916, is located under the Ortahisar Castle.