Rrjolli borders the Shkreli to the north, the Plani, Xhani, Suma and Mëgulla past Mount Bishkaz to the east, and the Lohja, Reçi and Grizha tribes to the northwest.
According to Giuseppe Valentini, Rrjolli can be divided into two main groups: the brotherhoods who arrived from the tribal territory of the Kuči in eastern Montenegro during the 16th or 17th century, and the anas who represent the native population of the region.
[3] Alternatively, the French consul Hyacinthe Hecquard (1814–1866) recounted an oral tradition which maintained that the Rrjolli trace their ancestry back to two families from Drisht.
The legend states that the two families had fled Drisht prior to the Ottoman siege of the citadel in hopes of escaping persecution and conversion to Islam.
In the Venetian cadastre of 1416-17 for Scutari and its environs, Rrjolli (Rioli) appears as a settlement split between the administrative authority of Bolca (now in Reçi) and Lohja (Logoan).
[6] Rrjolli (Riolo) appears in a report of 1671 written by Stefano Gaspari as a settlement with 20 homes and 156 inhabitants headed by a certain Ndre Mida.
[7] The original bajraktars of Rrjolli came from the Catholic Kokaj, however, due to their support of the Dervishi family against the Bushati of Shkodra, their position was given to the Muslim Kurtaj.
[8] Historically, numerous Rrjolli families would spend winters on the coast that lies between Shëngjin and the river Buna, sharing pastureland in Mali i Rrencit with Shkreli and Kelmendi tribes.