The population of the Soajo region is lost in time. The Rupestre Sanctuary of Gião - Serra do Soajo - and the countless Antas and Mamoas are some of the countless documentary landmarks. The first written document dates from 950 and refers to the sharing of assets between Countess Mumadona Dias and her descendants.

The Municipality of Soajo is mentioned in the General Inquiries of 1258, ordered by D. Afonso III. Also the Rol dos Besteiros do Couto, dating from the reign of D. Afonso III or D. Dinis, makes reference to the Julgado de Soajo. Still in 1283, at the D. Dinis Chancellery (1279-1325) in Torre do Tombo, there is the document regarding the dispute solution that occurred in the Municipality of Soajo.

In 1388, at the beginning of the reign of D. João I (1383-1433), the abbot of the Parish of Ermelo, then Municipality of Soajo, addressed the king stating: «The Monastery of Ermelo was built by D. Teresa, at the Soajo Court. In 1401, D. João I interdicted the nobles, in obedience to what came from before, to live in the land and in the Soajo Court, at the request of the councilors of the Soajo City Council.

In 1456, the Municipality of Soajo took a position on matters relating to the taxation of goods sold at the Valdevez fair.

According to the historical archives of the village of Soajo, its foundation dates back to the 1st century, but it was only in October 1514 that it obtained the Foral de D. Manuel I (1495-1521). At that time, the Municipality of Soajo covered the Parishes of Ermelo and Gavieira.

In 1657, during the Restoration wars, the people of the Municipality of Soajo took an active part, next to the Lindoso Castle, fighting heroically for the Restoration of Portugal's second independence, according to a document published in Subsidies for the History of Terra da Nóbrega and Ponte da Barca, by Professor Avelino de Jesus Costa.

The orographic set in the northeastern region, between the rivers Minho and Lima, was particularly cherished by the first kings of Portugal, as it was established in one of the first mounts in Portugal. In fact, the royal mount was created on this mountain and jurisdiction was exercised until 1831, by Monteiro-Mor, assisted by Monteiros-Minores. Thus, for many centuries, this area has been protected in terms of fauna and flora, by the management and superior supervision of the royal representative who was Monteiro-Mor. Until 1861, the date of the publication of the Letter Between Douro and Minho by General Nicolau Traut, this mountainous area was exclusively named by Serra de Soajo. From this date, this mountainous geographical area was also mistakenly called Serra da Peneda. This was due to the fact that in the area of ​​the Municipality of Soajo the toponymy “Serra da Peneda” appears in the aforementioned Letter, replacing Serra d 'Soajo. This procedure created such confusion that, even today, it remains.

Because the main activity of the inhabitants of the region is hunting, they were called “monteiros”. The main species caught were bears, wild boar, wild goats, wolves and foxes.

According to Pinho Leal, this parish "had great privileges, including that of not providing accommodation to the troops, nor soldiers, during wartime, and they only went to it in their couto, or when it was the king in person". In fact, from the documents in the Torre do Tombo, it appears that Monteiros do Soajo enjoyed unique privileges in relation to the other Coutadas and Royal Mounts, due to their strategic situation and natural beauty.

At the beginning of the 14th century, King D. Dinis was in Soajo, having increased his privileges, namely that no gentleman would stay here "longer than necessary to cool a hot bread, put in the air, on the tip of a spear. ». For his part, D. João 1 ordered the monks to prohibit the residence of knights here.

Documents dating from the early seventeenth century already referred to Soajo as Vila, admitting that this category results from the erection of the Pelourinho, according to a rule existing in the chancellery of D. Afonso V.

Following the Liberal Reform, on February 17, 1852, Soajo would lose the right to be the seat of the Council. Even so, the parish has never been forgotten and is still very popular and sought after today. Inserting itself in a characteristically rustic region, its streets paved with granite slabs and houses built with blocks of the same inert still constitute a reality and Soajo.

Community life has always been very important in this village. Until about a century ago, Soajo had a judge elected by the people.