Kamyanets-Podilsky, one of the oldest cities in the Ukraine, is considered a phenomenon of great cultural importance. A rocky island skirted by the tight loop of the Smotrich River flowing in a picturesque canyon, served as a unique pedestal on which over more than a thousand years both well-known and anonymous masters created a miracle in stone. Kamyanets-Podilsky is striking for the harmonious blend of landscape and architecture.
The Old City's past is full of mystery. The precise age of Kamyanets-Podilsky has not until recently been ascertained. Some historians claimed that the city was founded at the beginning of our era by the Dacians during the Roman-Dacian wars. Allegedly, it was named Petridava or Klepidava (from the Greek "petra" or the Latin "lapis" meaning "stone" and the Dacian "dava" meaning "city").

In 1196, early Old Rus chronicles mentioned Kamyanets as one of the cities belonging to the Gali-cian-Volhynian principality. The city survived the tide of Batu Khan invasion. Ruins of the 12th-13th -century fortifications were unearthed in the grounds of the castle, while in the central section of the Old City the restorers encountered wooden dwellings of the same period destroyed by fire.