A century-old birch forest once extended to the northeastern outskirts of the village but was destroyed by a large wildfire one-and-a-half to two centuries ago.

However, archaeological surveys indicate that the local inhabitants were not fully Romanized; their Thracian culture and language persisted well into the 6th and 7th centuries.

[7] Thracian settlements in the vicinity of Kochan were located in areas known as Kravek, Dalboki Dol, Kvachevo, Lukovitsa, Chindzhovo, Iztok, Baleva Niva, Shiroka Polyana, Livadeto, Visoka Maglitsa, Zaimova Chuka, Padiboga, Selishte, Kirmikya, Kalyovishte, Redovna Niva and Rata.

[11] In his statistic Vasil Kanchov mentions that in 1900 Kochan (Кочен) is a Pomak village with 773 inhabitants (Bulgarian Muslims) in total.

[12] In 1912 during the First Balkan War, Kochan was acceded to Bulgaria and shortly after its population was forced to convert from Islam to Christianity.

[13] Due to the fear of revenge or second baptism in 1914 15 families emigrated to the village of Kocapınar, Balıkesir Province, Turkey.

On 23 April 1972 in the town of Sarnitsa an appointed Bulgarian policeman was killed by five native Pomaks because of a confiscated driving license.

One of the ravishers surrendered immediately while the rest made an attempt to escape to Greece but were arrested in Kochan where they had received temporary shelter.

That was a good moment for the regime to make a second attempt for a forced name change since the inhabitants of the village were shocked by the incident and the authorities charged them with complicity in the murder.

In the Middle Ages it supposedly converted to Orthodox Christianity though some researches maintain that the population may have confessed Paulicianism or Bogomilism.

The mayor and the imam of the village gathered the people and explained to them that according to the Koran it is permissible to convert to other religion when threaten by death, on the condition to remain a true Muslim in the heart.

Eventually the church was dismissed and the mosque and Islam restored by the end of 1913 with the beginning of the Second Balkan War and the establishment of the Provisional Government of Western Thrace.

The different relief forms of the mountain combined with the different types of forests, the fields and the meadows make interesting scenes and landscapes.

Other larger ancient settlements are discovered in the territory of the neighboring villages and specifically the ones in Visoka magiltsa and Orfeevoto.