Excavations in the castle have discovered that the location was occupied during the Bronze and Iron Ages, while the parade grounds, habitational structures, and two silos date to the 12th and 13th centuries.

[1][3] Following the 1267 Treaty of Badajoz, the castle and other fortresses along the Algarve were transferred into the dominion of the King Afonso III of Portugalby Alfonso X of Castile.

[3] In 1448, during a visitation by members of the Order of Santiago to the town of Aljezur, they referred to the castle being in a state of abandon, at the same time prohibiting the removal of rock and masonry from the site for other constructions.

[1] On 20 August 1504, King Manuel of Portugal reissued a foral from Lisbon, where he conferred the title of honrada (honoured) to the charter (seen as a way to attract new settlers to the region).

[3] Yet, this decision did not inhibit other business-related plans, leading eventually to the 1 June 1992 decision to transfer the castle into the authority of the IPPAR Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (Portuguese Institute of Architectural Patrimony), a forerunner of the IGESPAR Instituto de Gestão do Património Arquitectónico e Arqueológico (Institute for the Management of Architectural and Archaeological Heritage).

In the meantime, a project to illuminate the castle grounds (in 1973 and, again, in 1981) and construction of an improved road accessway and parking area were completed in 1976-1977 by the municipal government of Aljezur (CMA).

On 21 November 1996, the CMA of Aljezur issued a public tender to elaborate a project to reconstruct, preserve and consolidate the remains of the Castle for the purposes of utilizing the structure as a method attracting tourism to the region.

The castle is located in a rural environment, isolated on top of an 88-metre hilltop (the smaller of two that overlook the old town) and circuited by the winding Aljezur ravine.