Lagina was an important sanctuary of the Hecate. It belonged to the territory of Stratonikeia, to which it was connected by a processional road. The temple of Hecate probably dates from the 2nd century B.C. 34 relief plates of the woodwork frieze are now in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum.

The temple probably had two construction phases. The first in the last third of the 2nd century B.C., the second around 80 B.C. In Trajan times the shrine was surrounded on three sides by a columned hall and provided with a propylon with an outwardly rounded staircase. They probably completed an older hall on the west side.

Recent excavations by Turkish archaeologists have shown that the first signs of settlement date back to around 3000 BC. Around the 3rd century BC, the shrine was an important religious centre during the reign of the Seleucid kings.
In the 1st century B.C., under the Roman Emperor Augustus, extensive expansion and conversion work was carried out. According to an inscription at the Bouleuterion in Stratonikeia, 11 km away, Lagina was connected to Stratonikeia by a sacred road.

The procession ended at Propylon, where the pilgrims were received by priests. On the sides of the Propylon are inscriptions with the names of the priests who were responsible for the temple. Lagina was surrounded by a 2 meter high wall that formed the back wall of the Stoa. Some of it can still be seen today.

The temple of Hecate, which was still very famous at the time of Strabon, rose in an extensive sacred area surrounded by Doric porticoes. The cella, measuring just under 7 × 8 metres, was preceded by an almost 6-metre deep vestibule. The columns of the ring hall stood on Attic bases with plinths pushed underneath. Of the temple frieze 34 plates with over 200 figures are known. This is the last frieze of figures that was built into a temple in Asia Minor. Among other things, it represents the conclusion of a treaty or peace between Romans and Greeks or peoples of Asia Minor.

In Byzantine times, a basilica was built between the Temple of Hecate and the altar, partly including the altar. The sanctuary was abandoned after some earthquakes and plundering by the Ottomans and was then largely covered by sediments.