The village Spaniards called San Luis was always a prominent entity in Apalachee Province. It first appeared in the historical record as the capital village where de Soto wintered in 1539-40. His chroniclers identified the village variously as Anhaica Apalache, Iviahica, Yniahico, and pueblo of Apalache. The Gentleman of Elvas described Anhaica Apalache as “where the lord of all that land and province lived.” Owing to the multiple accounts of the de Soto expedition, the ancestor village of San Luis is one of the first native communities in North America to be described by Europeans over a five-month period, between October 6, 1539 and March 3, 1540. The original site of San Luis (Anhaica) was discovered in downtown Tallahassee in 1987.

The name Anhaica resurfaced as Inihayca in 1608 when the Apalachees took the initiative to establish friendly relations with Spanish authorities. Anhaica’s chief’s importance was reflected at that time as one who journeyed to St. Augustine that year to render the province’s obedience to the Crown. When Spaniards finally began establishing missions in Apalachee Province in 1633, Anhaica was undoubtedly among the first to be proselytized.

In 1656, Spanish authorities decided to establish their western capital on one of the region’s highest hilltops for strategic purposes, and the chief of San Luis moved his village to be near them (previous Spanish deputy governors had resided at Anhaica/San Luis). In reality, he may have simply moved his residence and council house from one location under his jurisdiction to another since the area encompassed by San Luis was described by Spanish military authorities as extending for miles and being completely indefensible. In 1675, San Luis and its satellite villages had a population of more than 1400 native residents. While the size of most other Apalachee missions declined sharply over the years, the population of San Luis increased.