The history of Shkhepi fortress begins with the founding of the kingdom of Egrisi (Lazica), probably in the 4th century. It was one link in that kingdom's overall chain of defense. The kingdom of Egrisi expected its enemies chiefly from the south or from the west — from the sea. If an enemy coming from there could not be stopped on the Colchian plain, the defenders fell back northward and sheltered in the mountains. But the mountains and valleys themselves also needed protection, and it was as the shield of these valleys and mountains that Shkhepi and the fortresses of its chain were raised.