Thereafter, Lake Mistassini became an important step along the route from the Saguenay to James Bay. In 1672, Charles Albanel crossed the lake in an official mission. On June 18, 1672, he wrote: "We entered the great Lake Mistassirinins [...]; this Lake is named for the rocks with which it abounds, which are of prodigious size." That same year, a fur trading post was established on the lake, the location of which shifted from time to time until 1821, when it was established at the present site of the village Mistissini.