It owes its name to the fact that, topographically, it is higher than the rest of the old part of the City, due to the elevation of the land that exists towards the Andes mountain range, which is evident in its streets to this day.

The documentation bequeathed to the present by the priests who directed the process of "Extirpation of Idolatries," tells us that an oracle was located in its vicinity, which due to its importance and prestige ended up giving its name to the valley and, over time, to the current capital city of Peru.

This expansive policy was applied in the valley since the Huari presence in the area (sixth century AD), a period from which the Huatica would date.

In 1571, Viceroy Francisco de Toledo decreed the creation of reduction towns throughout the Andean space, where the indigenous population should live to favor their control and evangelisation.

Thus, to the east of the Santa Ana neighbourhood, the town of Santiago del Cercado was built, a reduction[b] for the indigenous people of the City of the Kings.

The reduction owed its name to the fact that it was dedicated to the apostle Santiago and was surrounded by a fence that had a single door for the entry and exit of its population.

The area surrounding the square was also characterized by the existence of viceregal buildings, converted into slums, that ran down from the ravines to the banks of the Rímac River.

One such example is a three-storey building known as El Buque after its resemblance to a ship, built in the 19th century in a 1,131 m² plot and located in the corners of jirones Junín and Cangallo, declared part of the Cultural heritage of Peru.

It has since been declared inhabitable, the result of a series of fires in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2022 that neighbours blame on the drug addicts that sneak into the building through a hole made in a wall.