The Piedmont and area above the fall line were occupied by Siouan groups, such as the Monacan and Manahoac. The Iroquoian-speaking peoples of the Nottoway and Meherrin lived in what is now Southside Virginia south of the James River. The region beyond the Blue Ridge (including West Virginia) was considered part of the sacred hunting grounds. Like much of the Ohio Valley, it was depopulated by attacks from the powerful Five Nations of the Iroquois during the later Beaver Wars (1670–1700).