Cartama is one of the most historically important municipalities in the Guadalhorce region, and one of the biggest, with its population spread over an area of 105 square kilometres in two twin towns: Cartama Pueblo and Cartama Estación. There are, besides, nine other smaller urban areas. Its archaeolgical sites are among the best in the province, with fragments of ceramics, metals, walls, Roman coins and columns having been discovered. And watching over the different settlements through the centuries is the ancient castle fortress of Cartama. When the Phoenicians arrived at what is now the town, they found a small fortress inhabited by the Iberians, situated on top of the Cerro de la Virgen hill.

Both peoples lived side by side for some time, establishing a factory in the La Vega and La Sierra area for the production of agricultural products of the region. For their mutual protection, they reconstructed the fortress and called the place Carth-Ma, meaning "Hidden town and mother". This was seized by the Roman consul Marco Poncio Catón in the year 195 B.C., who, once installed in the town, rebuilt the castle and fortified it, extending the building towards the mountainside. The Visigoths carried out later reconstruction work on it, but it was during the Moorish occupation that it achieved most importance.