The village of Murtinheira sits in the valley that was once a lake, its waters held back by a rock barrier in the Candosa gorge. The land is a combination of fertile sedimentary soil and round glaciated boulders carried down the river Sotão at the end of the last ice age. The landscape of the valley bottom is entirely man-made. It is thought that around the 1st century B.C. Roman engineers removed the rock barrier to expose the fertile valley, and also to enable them to recover gold deposited by the rivers. It is known that both Christian and Moorish inhabitants farmed this land, clearing glacial boulders and creating the irrigation system, making this the most productive area in the Góis region. The course of the river Sotão is approximately 5m higher than the river Ceira across the valley. This has been used to great advantage, with the water of the Ceira being channelled throughout the valley floor.

Where the road bridge crosses the river Sotão once stood the chapel of St.ª Apolónia and São Silvestre, that was washed away by a great flood. It is said that all that remained of the chapel were the carved statues of the two saints, now in the Capela do Mártir of Vila Nova do Ceira. The water is said to have risen as high as the door handles. The date of this flood is not clear, but it is likely that an old building, held together by clay, would not offer much resistance to rising waters.

There are two variations of the story about the origin of the village’s name:
The first says that the two original inhabitants of the village were named Estêvão and Serafim. Estêvão had a big murtinheiro (myrtle tree) and because of this the village got its name. The second says that there were many myrtle trees where the village is now, and people started saying that they were going to Murtinheira (the place where the myrtles are).