In the early Middle Ages, Debowiec was a gord, located in sparsely inhabited areas of Carpathian foothills. In the 11th century, Benedictine monks from Tyniec encouraged settlers to come to this corner of Lesser Poland. Debowiec was a village, destroyed in 1241, during the Mongol invasion of Poland. Asiatic hordes returned in 1259–1260 and 1287–1288, bringing further destruction.