The city of Sayil was built at the end of the Late Classic and early Terminal Classic (800-950), in a valley with good farming land. It is estimated that it extended to an area of three square miles that during its occupation in the eighth and ninth centuries had a population of approximately 10,000. The archeological evidence suggests that the inhabitants of Sayil initially settled just over a mile from the North Palace on a site known as Chaak II, which possesses one of the few natural water sources in the region, in the cave of Chaak.

The fact that the ancient Maya preferred to settle in a valley with more fertile soil tells us how important farming was to them. A good proportion of the inhabitants of Sayil and of the Puuc region generally were farmers, who cultivated gardens in the city and fields in the neighboring valleys.

Stelae were erected on the site representing the important lords, who were probably the rulers. Nevertheless, the archeological evidence suggests that the lords at least partially shared political and religious power with other lineages.