Iximché is located a mile away from Tecpán which is about 21 miles from Chimaltenango. Iximché was the capital of the Cakchiquel Maya. The archaeological site sits atop a fortified hilltop site surrounded by a moat about nine feet deep, with a ball court and other structures. The patio for ball games is completely enclosed, which is common in many places on the altiplano. The ball courts were built near an area containing four plazas. The Cakchiquel Maya were powerful warriors and skillful builders. The stucco faces of many stone structures are still intact. It is thought that Iximché was founded in the year 1470 A.D. and throughout the life of the city were the bitter enemies of the Quiché Maya. The first spanish settlement on Guatemala soil was in Iximché. Iximché is located very close to the ruins of Pocomán, also called Mixco Viejo.
This archaeological site was the location of the capital of the ancient Cakchiquel Maya domain, in which the first capital of the Kingdom of Goathemala was founded. In the municipality of Tecpán Guatemala, twenty-five miles (34 km.) from Chimaltenango, Iximché sits at the top of a fortified hill surrounded by dry moats almost nine feet deep. The patio for ball games is completely enclosed, which is common in many places on the altiplano. Iximché is a little over a mile away (2 km.) from Tecpán and 54 miles (87 km.), on the same road, from a Huehuetenango. The city-fortress of the Cakchiquel Maya domain (from 1250-1525, late Post-Classic epoch) is now an important archaeological site. Located in the Chimaltenango department, the Mixco Viejo ruins, intact until now, exhibit a series of pyramids, observatory tumuli, and ball-game stadiums. Tombs have not been found, which makes experts believe that the dead were cremated. This was primarily a ceremonial center, but its most interesting characteristic is the existence of two patios used for ball games. The buildings and ceramics of Mixco Viejo appear to belong to the same era, the late Postclassic. Until the16th century, Mixco Viejo was the Maya capital of Pokomán. Today, the original Pokomán language is spoken only in the towns of Mixco and Chinautlá.