 The heart of the old town of Yamada was near modern-day Ujiyamada Station, the terminus, and thus the line was named the "Yamada Line".LO  Local (; )

 EX  Express (; )

 RE  Rapid Express (; )

 LE  Limited Express (; )

 NS  Non-stop Limited Express (; )
 SV  Premium Express Shimakaze (; )

The Yamada Line was built in the late 1920s and early 1930s to provide a more direct link for pilgrims and travelers going between Osaka and Ise Grand Shrine in Ujiyamada (now Ise) and was designed to compete with the Japanese National Railways Sangū Line (now owned by JR Central).Originally built and operated by Sangū Express Electric Railway ("Sankyū") the line was designed to link directly with what is now the Osaka Line.