Not only does the village share a name with one of Zimbabwe's World Heritage site of Matobo Hills. Elderly people in the village trace their origins to this famous site and argue that the hills are named after their renowned leader she (chief) Matobo I. There are talks in the village that one of the custodians of the world acclaimed rain-making shrines of Njelele at Matobo Hills was a member of the community of Matobo. This woman is said to be part of an established lineage of custodians of Njelele shrine going as far back as the time when Bananzwa were living at Matobo Hills in present day Zimbabwe.
The people of Matobo are not the earliest settlers in the area. Long before they settled here, some Late Stone Age hunting and gathering communities occupied the area. These people hunted wild animals that were abundant in the area and gathered edible plants growing in the hills found around present day Makuta, Matobo and Goshwe areas. These hunting and gathering communities also produced rock paintings depicting wild animals found in this area about 2000 years ago. One of these Late Stone Age sites is found about three kilometres South East of Matobo kgotla on a granite kopje locally known as Tshule Hill. Several red paintings are found on small shelters and panels of this hill.
