The village of Sioni, where this complex stands, is the oldest and most important settlement of Khevi. Strategically it held the greatest importance in the early Middle Ages, and it was precisely in that period — the 9th–10th centuries — that the main buildings of the Khevi Sioni church complex were erected: the church, the enclosure wall and the tower. This fortress tower was a defensive structure of state importance, barring the road north toward the Dariali gorge. Khevi, administratively separate from Mtiuleti, had its own governor who, according to the "Dzeglisdeba", was called the "eristavi of Sioni" in the 14th century.