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The Pelješac peninsula has long been known for shipping, salt, wine and shellfish, as well as the Ston city walls. Since Pelješac became part of the Republic of Dubrovnik in 1334, the construction of the Ston city walls began, which lasted until the beginning of the 16th century. With the aim of serving as a monumental defence system, the walls of Ston represented the largest fortification-urban project in Europe at that time. However, the walls protected not only the city, but also the salt pans, which represented a significant part of the Dubrovnik Republic's income.

First, a defensive rampart was built from one side of the peninsula to the other, about 1,200 meters long, and two fortified towns were built on each side: Ston (Castrum Istius maris) and Mali Ston (Castum Iilius maris), and all with the aim of gathering the population that had the task of guarding the borders and working in the salt pans, from which the Republic of Dubrovnik received significant financial resources. Historical records say that the construction of the great rampart took 18 months and cost the Republic 12,000 ducats. In addition to the defensive rampart, the walls of Ston consisted of 3 other fortresses (Veliki Kaštio, Koruna and Podzvizd), forty-one towers, seven bastions (Sokolić, Arcimon in Ston, three bastions of Veliki Kaštela, Podzvizda bastion and Arcimon in Mali Ston), four half-walls and ditches filled with water that surrounded the western, southern and eastern sides of Ston. In addition to putting aside considerable funds for the construction of the walls, the Republic of Dubrovnik engaged both domestic and foreign builders from Italy and France, and master craftsmen Juraj Dalmatinac and Paskoje Miličević worked on improvements until the end of the 15th century.

The original length of the Ston city walls was 7,000 meters. Later, after years of decay and neglect, the length reached 5,500 meters. Although the walls of Ston suffered all kinds of damage over the centuries; from earthquakes, wars and the local population that took parts of the walls as construction material, today they represent the longest preserved defence system in the world after the Great Wall of China.

In 2003, the renovation of the walls began in order to provide access for visitors and tourists, which was achieved at the end of 2009 thanks to the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities, which has been active since the mid-20th century.

Fifteen years ago, every September, the Walls become the main location of the Ston Marathon. This form of active tourism is recognized by many professional and recreational runners who choose whether to run 4, 15 or 42 kilometres, and everyone agrees on one thing - the view of Ston and the Ston salt pans, which still look and function today as they did in the past, is priceless.

Fun fact: After the fall of the Republic of Dubrovnik at the beginning of the 19th century, some parts of the walls were sold to private individuals, demolished for "hygienic reasons", and in 1874 a part was demolished to build a triumphal arch in honour of the arrival of Emperor Francis Joseph I.