The villages established in the areas belonging to the Picunches (the name given by Chileans) or Promaucae people (name given by the Incas), were subject to the Inca Empire throughout the late fifteenth century and into the early sixteenth century. The Incas settled in the valley of mitimas, the main installation settled in the center of the present city, with strongholds such as Huaca de Chena and the sanctuary of El Plomo hill. The area would have served as a basis for the failed Inca expeditions southward road junction as the Inca Trail.