The site of the city on the banks of the Colipa river provides a variety of ecosystems. It had a long sequence of occupation from the Early Preclassic to the start of the Postclassic. In the early years it came under Olmec influence and during the Late Classic it displayed features of Totonac culture. In terms of its architecture, Las Higueras shows the influence of Tajín, although architectural traits from Teotihuacan predominate.

Pyramid 1 is the most important structure on account of the series of Totonac murals notable for their varied imagery, enabling us to reconstruct the site’s occupational sequence. It seems that the building underwent four building stages and that the mural paintings relate to its second and third stages. The Totonacapan, as the region was known, was divided into small fiefdoms whose relationships were based on trade, political alliances and kinship.