It is estimated that the history of the ancient city of Caunos dates back to 3 thousand years before Christ. Being rich enough to print gold coins in its name, Kaunos later came under the rule of the Ionians, the 12 Port Union, Alexander the Great, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Knights of Rhodes, Seljuks, Menteşe Principality and Ottomans.

The location of Kaunos, which is mentioned in many written works, was determined by the British archaeologist Hoskyn in 1842. Hoskyn, who searched for Caunos in the Lycian and Carian border regions, found a people’s assembly tablet in the ruins in Dalyan. He learned from this tablet that the ratio was Kaunos. Thus, Caunos has taken its place in the world literature. Another study in the world of archeology that turned the attention to Caunos was the research conducted by the Swiss archaeologist Pavo Roos in the late 1950s. Roos prepared the result of his research as his doctoral dissertation.