Forteviot is known to have been inhabited in the 9th century. King
Cináed mac Ailpín (Kenneth mac Alpin or Kenneth I of Scotland) (d. 858), is said to have died in the 'palace' (
palacio) there. The palace formerly stood on Haly Hill, on the west side of the modern village, overlooking the Water of May. The ruins of a castle associated with
Máel Coluim III (1058–93) were visible in the 17th century. Several pieces of early medieval sculpture are preserved in the parish church, which is dedicated to
St Andrew. The 'Forteviot Arch', an early-9th century monolithic sandstone arch with figural sculpture, discovered in an old bed of the Water of May, west of the terrace on which the village stands, is now in the
National Museum of Scotland in
Edinburgh. It is likely to have once adorned a royal chapel. ==The village==