[8] It was commissioned as a private church by the local župan (district-prefect) Gastika of Cetina, at the recommendation of Pope Stephen VI, in memory of his family.

[citation needed] After a 1492 invasion by the Ottoman Empire, the church and the settlement sustained heavy damage and a substantial part of the inhabitants fled to Turopolje.

The ruins of the church and surrounding tombs were described by the Archbishop of Split Stjepan Cupilli during his tour of his archdiocese lands in 1708, as well as Alberto Fortis during his travels in 1774, and Ivan Lovrić in 1776.

Franciscan archaeologist Stjepan Zlatović described the pilgrimage local Catholics continued to make every year on Ascension Day, where the Vrlika parish priest would hold a special mass within the church ruins.

[13] In the late 19th century, Franciscan friar Lujo Marun of the Knin parish became the first person to conduct an excavation of the site, the findings which he published in 1895 and 1896.

[16] Led by renowned archaeologist Stjepan Gunjača, the team's work focused on excavating inside the church along with the surrounding area and preserving what was left of the existing structures.

[18] The team unearthed hundreds of old-Croatian graves, many containing jewelry, coins, belts, weaponry, and other artifacts now kept at the archaeology museum in Split.

[22] The baseless Milaš's claim is easily refuted by the archaeological and historical evidence which conclusively dates the foundation of the church and surrounding graves to the 10th century at the latest.

After the archaeological excavations were completed in 1954, the Serbian Orthodox population began a campaign of burying their dead haphazardly throughout grounds in order to lay claim to the church.