Segura de la Sierra is a municipality located in the heart of the Sierra de Segura region, in the Northeast area of the province of Jaén, at about 1140 metres of altitude. This area is characterised by its extensive mountain range, home to enormous natural wealth and boundless woodlands. The olive tree is the predominant agricultural crop and and livestock farming also heavily shapes the way of life of its inhabitants. This highland municipality has numerous small inhabited nuclei, dispersed all around the magnificent landscape. Its natural variety, history and monumental heritage make Segura de la Sierra a must for any visitor who ventures into the Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas Natural Park and wants to discover its history or enjoy outdoor sports and immersion in nature such as on the various stages of the GR-247 Bosques del Sur Trail.

The history of Segura de la Sierra dates back to the dawn of civilisation. The cave paintings found in the Collado del Guijarral and Cueva de la Diosa Madre caves testify to the presence of mankind in these lands from the fourth millennium BC. Closer to the town's current urban centre we find the settlement known as Segura la Vieja, located on top of a mountain a few kilometres from the village of Moralejos. This has traditionally been attributed by the locals to peoples such as the Iberians, Phoenicians and even bronze age man. The truth is that the remains of the settlement are poorly preserved and have been insufficiently studied to be certain of their true origins.

Nevertheless, it was during Islamic rule that Segura, or Saqura as it was called at that time, lived its time of greatest splendour, becoming a regional stronghold, although this was also a time of great upheaval. In the 9th-10th centuries, after the collapse of the Caliphate of Córdoba and the formation of the Taifas, Saqura enjoyed several periods of independence that led to it acquiring a degree of importance. During the following centuries it was passed between Almoravids and Almohads until being conquered by the Christians on St. Vincent's Day in 1214. This saint subsequently became the patron saint of the village, flying the flag of the Order of Santiago. King Alfonso VIII ceded the town to the Order, which turned it into the seat of its 'Encomienda', or commandery, representing the centre of government of all the Order's possessions in the area.

In the sixteenth century the town enjoyed a period of splendour, thanks to the huge quantity of timber produced here that was transported via the River Guadalquivir to supply all of Andalusia. During the eighteenth century, the State took over management of the region's mountains, with the Ministerio de Marina y Montes turning Segura into a Maritime Province (undoubtedly as a result of the need for wood to build ships). The French occupied it in 1810, an event which resulted in the death of numerous inhabitants and the town being razed to the ground and burned, as well as leading to the independence of numerous municipalities that since the Castilian conquest had been controlled by the Crown of Castile.

The village of Segura de la Sierra was declared a Historic-Artistic Site in November 1972 and is also designated a "picturesque landscape".