the name "tenango" shows the modern town's relationship with the nearby ruins of teotenango. this site, when it was occupied, was called tenango (or "place of the wall"). when the indigenous people were moved from this city to the valley floor below, the new village was also called tenango. "del valle" (of the valley) was eventually added to distinguish the new village from the old city. over time, the abandoned city of tenango, became known as teotenango ("walled city of the gods"). both the archeological ruins and the spanish village were referred to by the aztec glyph for "tenango" in the early colonial period in documents such as the mendocino codex. today, this glyph is used to refer to the modern town and municipality.