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The Spanish colonizers used the name Mbayá (a term probably of Tupi origin) for the Guaikurú (also of Tupi origin) from whom the Kadiwéu descended. Originating on the western side of the Paraguay river, a section of the Mbayá crossed over to the eastern shore some time in 17th century. In response to the pressure from an expanding colonial frontier, they relocated further northwards and those who still had not migrated to the eastern shore of the river did so at the end of the 18th century. During this period, their territory extended from the mountain ranges separating the Paraná and Paraguay rivers to an area north of the 18°S parallel.

The Mbayá were divided into various hordes, each one with a specific name associated with the natural features of the regions they occupied. During the 18th century, the territory of one of these hordes, the Cadiguegodis, was drained by a creek called Cadigugi by the Indians. All the indications are that this latter horde were the ancestors of the latter-day Kadiwéu. The Kadiwéu horde was the last to migrate to the eastern shore of the Paraguay river and was the only surviving population by the second half of the 19th century.

The Kadiwéu, who the historical literature once called the 'horsemen Indians,' due to their ownership of a vast equine herd and their admirable riding skills, nowadays live in a territory located in the State of Mato Grosso do Sul, in lands including an area of the Pantanal. The natural limits of their territory are formed in the west by the Paraguay and Nabileque rivers, in the east by the Serra da Bodoquena upland range, in the north by the Neutaka river and in the south by the Aquidavão river. Within this territory, the Kadiwéu population divides into four villages. The largest village, Bodoquena, is located in the northeast of the Indigenous Territory, at the foot of the Serra da Bodoquena, neighbouring the Campina village, which is found in the uplands above. Tomázia village is located in the south of the Indigenous Territory. The village of São João is also found in the south. The latter village is mostly inhabited by Terêna Indians and remnants of the Kinikináo population. Some Kadiwéu families still live in small groups, at localities deeper inside the Indigenous Territory further away from the main villages, where they breed small cattle herds.

The Kadiwéu Indigenous Territory is in the municipality of Porto Murtinho. Bodoquena is the closest town to the largest village (60 km), followed by Miranda and Aquidauana. Campo Grande (310 km) is the most important urban centre in strategic and administrative terms for the Kadiwéu. It is headquarters for the FUNAI administration charged with their jurisdiction, the association of tenant farmers (ACRIVAN - Aquidaban and Nabileque Valley Cattle Breeders Association) and ACIRK (Kadiwéu Reserve Indigenous Communities Association).