Imai Town had developed as a jinai-cho around the Shonen-ji Temple, but after Nobunaga ODA disarmed the town, it enjoyed prosperity as an autonomous city, along with Sakai, until the end of the Edo period.
今井町は称念寺を中心に発展した寺内町であったが、織田信長に武装解除されてから後は、堺と共に自治都市として幕末まで栄えた。