The tribe's members appear to have been mostly sedentary farmers at the dawn of Islam, living in small settlements along the wadis of eastern Nejd (known back then as al-Yamama), particularly the valley of Al-'Irdh, which later came to bear their name (see Wadi Hanifa). Sources such as Yaqut's 13th century encyclopedia credit them with the founding of the towns of Hadjr (the predecessor of today's Riyadh) and Manfuha, and being responsible for the granaries of Al-Kharj. According to legend, the tribe had moved to al-Yamamah from the Hejaz after the region's original inhabitants, the extinct people of Tasm and Jadis were decimated by war.
One of the places becoming a major attraction for young people and families to enjoy the magic of wintertime is Wadi Hanifa, which is located on the outskirts of Riyadh. It was known in the pre-Islamic era as Wadi Al-Irdh and was renamed Wadi Hanifa after the Bani Hanifa tribe that populated the area.