A village named "Winniki" was mentioned at the site in 1368 and was part of the Kingdom of Poland under the Piast dynasty. The town was founded in 1597 as a private fortified town and named "Żółkiew" after its founder, one of the most accomplished military commanders in Polish history, hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski. Like Zamość, which was founded by Żółkiewski's mentor Jan Zamoyski, Żółkiew was built on an ideal Renaissance city plan. Due to its strategic location at the intersection of important trade routes, the town prospered. In 1603 it was granted town rights by King Sigismund III Vasa. From its earliest days, the population was a mix of Poles, Armenians, Ukrainians and Jews, with several great Jewish scholars basing themselves out of Zhovkva, such as Ariah Judah Leib Sirkin and Betzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva.