Prior to the arrival of the Spanish colonizers the area was vastly populated by Chimila indigenous people and a village known as "Pongueyca". The foundation of Ciénaga has always been a matter of dispute due to many different historical theories and the lack of documented sources. It is believed to be founded first in what is now a small village known as Pueblo Viejo and the site of a former Chimila tribe. In 1529 monk Fray Tomás Ortiz established a parish that would later burn in a fire. It was then refounded as a city by Fernando de Mier y Guerra under the name of "Villa de San Juan Bautista de la Ciénaga" but also was known with the names of "San Juan del Córdoba", "Aldea Grande", "Córdoba", "Pueblo de la Ciénaga" and simply "Ciénaga".