Ixtachichimecapan

Ixtachichimecapan was the Otomi settlement associated with the river valley later called San Juan del Río in Querétaro. Its inhabitants gathered around Techimacit hill, now the Barrio de la Cruz, where agriculture and houses occupied the river hollow. Local historical tradition remembers a chief called Mexici, subsequently baptised Juan. The older settlement gave the colonial town a foundation of people, cultivated land and recognised local leadership.

San Juan del Río traditionally dates its establishment as an Indigenous town to 24 June 1531. Together with Querétaro it became a frontier centre during Spanish expansion toward the Chichimeca country, and later an intermediate point between Mexico City and the mining districts of Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. It belonged to the alcaldía mayor of Querétaro. Indigenous government continued through a governor, alcaldes, constables, crop officials and a scribe, alongside royal jurisdiction. By 1693 the church and convent of Santo Domingo had been completed beside the main road. The town's history thus combined Otomi institutions with the traffic, missions and administration of the colonial interior.