[3][4] Parada do Monte, Gave and the plateau of Castro Laboreiro were locations of many megalithic burial mounds and graves that suggest the presence of human settlement in the mountains of the region.

[5] Oral tradition suggest that the castle of Melgaço was constructed during the reign of King D. Afonso Henriques, around 1170.

[5] The hilltop of Melgaço, overlooking the Minho River, was strategically located enroute to Galicia, in addition to terrestrial commercial routes.

[5] The small burg required further protection from Leonese forces, resulting in the construction of a larger structure, on a site that would later be erected the keep tower.

[5] Its need was already evident in the reign of King D. Afonso II, during the politico-military battles that were motivated by the monarch's struggles with his sisters.