The locality is named after a 13th-century Moorish farmhouse, granted in 1238 by the Aragonese king Jaume I (James I) to Pere de Montagut.

On January 17, 1252, this latter conceded the right to found a township upon these lands to 54 Christian pioneers after the Reconquista of the Valencian Moorish territories.

The town was involved in many of the conflicts that shook Spain throughout its history: it was sacked during the "Revolta de les Germanies" in the beginning of the 16th century; in the 18th century, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the Bourbon troops plundered it again, and finally, during the Peninsular War it lodged a camp of French troops that looted everything from the villagers, leaving them in debt.

During the Spanish Civil War, it was lucky to keep on the rearguard, although this did not spare the town from being bombed by Italian fascist planes, supporting Franco's uprising.

After Franco's death in 1975 and the institution of democracy in Spain, the name fell into disfavor and the population unanimously voted to change it.