The time before the rule of the Turks is known only by numerous legends related to the stay of Prince Lazar in these areas.

The rule of the Turks brought great troubles to the serbian population of this area, which emigrated in large numbers during the migration under patriarch Arsenije Čarnojević between 1689. and 1690. Only after the withdrawal of the Turks in front of the Austrians in 1718. , many old settlements came back to life, but with the return of the Turks in 1739. new migrations have emerged. There are other data on the small number of houses in the villages of this area. It is interesting that these data do not mention the village of Svine (today's Petrovac) as well as many other present-day villages.

The first data on this settlement date from 1820. , during the reign of prince Miloš Obrenović. According to the "tevra arac" from that period, the nahija of Požarevac had seven principalities in it’s composition at that time: Moravian, Mlav, Golubac, Homolje, Zvižd, Pek and Ram. The village of Svine, in whose land area the village of Petrovac would later become, belonged to the principality of Mlava. The village of Svine then had 89 houses. Petrovac was first mentioned in 1859. The settlement sprang up on the right bank of the Mlava, opposite the village of Svine, as a need of the administration of the principality of Serbia to create an administrative center of power for the whole area around the river Mlava.

Petrovac was named after the state advisor Petrović, a friend of prince Miloš Obrenović. A memorial bust of the man after whom the city was named has stood on the plateau in front of the Petrovac Municipal Assembly building since june 4. 2005.