Some scholars have proposed that the Cherethites were a second wave of migrants, the Philistines being the first, and that their initial staging post from which they spread was Ziklag, having taken this over as their capital from the Philistines.
Scholars suggest that the Cherethites came after the Philistines in migration. Their first location was Ziklag, which they seized and made their capital following the Philistines' control there.