Cacela Velha and the surrounding towns were a stopover for Greek and Phoenician navigators,[1] and according to some authors it may have once been near the location of Conistorgis, the still-unrecovered capital of the Conii.

[1] Archeological excavations conducted from May 7 to July 4, 2007, determined the village was the Medina of Qast’alla Daraj (Ibn Darradj al-Qastalli), an Islamic town dating back to the 10th century, when much of the Iberian peninsula was controlled by the Moors and Berbers who arrived from North Africa.

[3] Archeologists determined the area was an agricultural center, and part of the excavation recovered seven corn pits that were used for storing cereals and grain.

Cacela Velha’s beachfront location and lack of modern overdevelopment has been attractive to many visitors,[4] while the village's fishing fleets have supplied the local seafood restaurants with oysters, clams, prawns and baby squid.

Cacela Velha’s major cultural event is the annual Noites da Moura Encantada (in English: Nights of the Enchanted Moor Woman), which provides evenings of music, street fairs and artisan exhibitions that pay tribute to the region’s Arab and Berber heritage.