One of the earliest Corfiot installations on the coast of Thesprotia appears to have been a walled settlement on the hill of Mastilitsa or Masklinitsa, 3.5 km south of the modern settlement of Sagiada. The latest archaeological evidence dates this first installation in the archaic period and confirms a close relationship with the metropolis of Corfu from the end of the 6th century BC.

Along with other corfiot settlements in Lygia Peninsula and the Tower of Ragio, with which Mastilitsa is in direct sight line, the settlement secured control of the sea passage between Corfu and Epirus as well as the supervision of the hinterland within several kilometers.

Excavations conducted outside the walls in a rectangular building, probably of religious character, has brought to light findings which confirm the use of the building from the late archaic to the hellenistic era. Also from late archaic to early classical periods are the finds from the necropolis of the settlement, confirming its habitation for a very long period.

It is likely that the settlement was abandoned during the late Hellenistic period

During the Roman era, in the plains at the foot of the hill a luxurious Roman villa was constructed, the use of which is dated approximately between the second half of the 2nd century BC and the middle of the 3rd century AD.