Xicochimalco

Xicochimalco stood on the eastern slopes of the Mexican highlands, above the warm coastal plain of Veracruz. Its fortified settlement and neighbouring villages lay on a route toward the interior. Hernán Cortés passed through in 1519 on his march to Tenochtitlan. After the conquest inhabitants moved from the older site to a more accessible location between rivers; in 1545 the community obtained a land grant encompassing its new town and outlying villages.