It is located in western Georgia, on the Bzhuzhi river, at elevation of 190 m above sea level, 7 km east of the city of Ozurgeti.

Archaeological reconnaissance works conducted at Shemokmedi from 1991 to 1994 yielded fragments of pottery characteristic of the Kura–Araxes culture, suggesting that the area had already been inhabited in the Early Bronze Age.

[2] The recorded history of Shemokmedi is inextricably bound to the monastery complex which sits on a small hill overlooking the village.

The monastery was founded by the Gurieli family, rulers of the Principality of Guria, in the 15th century as a seat of a Georgian Orthodox bishop.

The castle, dubbed by the Russian officials "an abode of brigandage", was razed to the ground in an act of revenge; houses were all burned down and farmlands and vineyards were destroyed to punish the locals with "extreme poverty".