The first ever historical reference about the Honavar town appears in the works of the Greek author Periplus (AD 247) and it was called Naour. It was mentioned as the first port of Limurike in Tamil country.
In the 10th century text Jain Ramayana, the town is mentioned as Hanuruha Island. References about the town are also available in the works of Abu al-Fida (A.D.1273-1331), an Arab Geographer as well as that of Ibn Batuta who described it as the city of Hinaur.
Honavar or Onore, was a notable seaport of British India, in the North Kanara district of Bombay. It is mentioned as a place of trade as early as the 16th century, and is associated with two interesting incidents in Anglo-Indian history. In 1670, the English factors here had a bull-dog which killed a sacred bull. An enraged mob killed 18 people in retaliation. In 1784 it was defended for three months by Captain Torriano and a detachment of sepoys against the army of Tippoo Sultan.