According to legend the two cities of Phrae and Nan were once ruled by brothers. When they met to divide the land between them the one from Phrae rode on a horse, the one from Nan on a buffalo to the meeting point on top of a mountain. Hence Phrae uses a horse in their seal, while Nan uses a buffalo. When the provincial government proposed the seal in 1940, the Fine Arts Department suggested to add some historic building to the seal additional to the horse, thus it now have the pagoda of Phra Tat Cho Hae on the back of the horse. This temple is located about 9 kilometers south-east of the city Phrae.

Provincial flower and tree is the Burmese Almondwood (Chukrasia tabularis).