It depends what you mean by a lot of large stones.
I always remove any small boulders (!), say size of a rugby ball, which are poking above surface level. Otherwise they are in your way for ever.
Then I would cover with compost and plant into that, without expecting plants to be magnificent for a year or two, though improvement is soil and growth should be steady over many years.
If you are feeling energetic, some kind of fork-loosening would speed things up. Without seeing the soil its hard to be sure. If you notice some worms that is promising.
