The Mine was built by Abomelic, at the beginning of the 14th century, as a military building to supply water to the city. It is located inside the House of the Moorish King.
The staircase was built in the living rock, protected in part by brick and adobe walls, with some holes and windows, through which it receives light, and several rooms or extensions, like dungeons, where the prisoners slept. The entire 365-step staircase is vaulted and built in sections. In times of sieges, struggles and civil wars, Muslims used to form a human chain with Christian slaves, taking the water from the bottom of the river to the interior of the city.
This staircase is well camouflaged and inside its walls you can see marks and signs made by the slaves who worked on it. There is a proverb on the ladder that says: “In Ronda you die carrying zaques.” During the conquest of Ronda it was discovered by the Marquis of Cádiz and guarded so that it was not an escape point.