The earliest identified occupation within the Kouris River valley is at the hilltop settlement of Sotira-Teppes, located 9 km northwest of Kourion. This settlement dates to the Ceramic Neolithic period ( 5500–4000 BCE). Another hilltop settlement from the same era has been excavated at Kandou-Kouphovounos on the east bank of the Kouris River. In the Chalcolithic period (3800–2300 BCE), settlement shifted to the site of Erimi-Pamboules near the village of Erimi. Erimi-Pamboules was occupied from the conclusion of the Ceramic Neolithic through the Chalcolithic period (3400–2800 BCE).