Archaeological remains show that the site was inhabited during the Byzantine period, and may have begun as a fortified agricultural farm. In the 12th century, the land was inherited by Lady Stephanie de Milly, a Crusader noblewoman, and in 1249 the site was gifted to the Teutonic Order, a military wing of the Crusaders established in Acre in c.1190. The Crusaders would have chosen this site to build their fortress because of its strategic, elevated position where they could control the road that connected Acre to Lebanon.
