Located 5 km north of Dedoplistskaro, where a settlement has existed since time immemorial. In the 5th century King Vakhtang Gorgasali founded an episcopal cathedral here and declared the land a royal appanage. After the formation of the unified Georgian feudal monarchy (early 11th century), Khornabuji became the center of a frontier duchy through which important trade routes passed — all of which made it a strategic, cultural and military center.