The place is recorded as Gurji-Boghazi (საქართველოს ყელი) in the Description of the Kingdom of Georgia by 18th century, Georgian geographer Vakhushti Batonishvili.
[4] The Romans were said to have attempted to block the ravine's mouth with defensive wooden and iron-bound gates as recorded by the classics.
The Iberian gates led to quicker access into the Roman province of Greater Armenia, whenever necessary in military operations.
Kavadh I with help of Vakhtang I of Iberia seized and fortified it, though less as a precaution against the Romans than against the Huns and other northern barbarians.
On the decline of the Persian power, the Iberian frontier was the scene of the operations of the emperors Maurice and Heraclius.