During the Muladî uprising led by Omar Ben Hafsun (at the end of the 10th and beginning of the 11Ith centuries) Mijas changed hands several times between the governing Emirate and the leader of the rebels. It was finally recaptured after the Christian troops took Malaga in 1487, which was just before the Arab kingdom collapsed totally. During the years of fighting Mijas was used as a military headquarters. The Christians who had come from the north to repopulate the area mixed in with the Arabs who chose to stay there despite having been defeated.

For their faithfulness to “Juana la Loca” during the “Guerra de las Communidades” Mijas was granted the title of “Villa” in 1512. They were also awarded a total exemption on the payments of sales tax as an extra reward. Later on, the town was honoured by the Queen and named “Muy Leal” (A very loyal town). Mijas is one of the largest municipalities in terms of land in the whole province of Malaga, with more than 147 square kilometres of land that includes some wonderful mountainous areas right down to its 14 kilometres of Mediterranean coastline. There are many relics from past Eras along the coast, too such as the watchtowers at Calahonda, Calaburra, La Nueva and the Vieja in the Cala del Moral.

The municipality is divided up into three separate parts; Mijas Pueblo, Las Lagunas and La Cala, as well as some rural hamlets like Valtocado, la Alquerîa y Entrerrîos. On top of this , there are also some 150 small housing estates spread out within the municipal boundaries. Mijas Pueblo is situated on the side of one of the many mountains some 428 metres above sea level. Its rather elevated position gave it an enormous strategic advantage for the defence of the area in past times.