Loja Province is one of 22 provinces in Ecuador and shares its southern border on the west by El Oro Province, on the north by El Azuay, and on the east by Zamora-Chinchipe. Founded on its present site in 1548 by Captain Alonso de Mercadillo (Spanish) the site had been previously moved and rebuilt from La Toma due to earthquakes. It also is named as Cuxibamba Valley which means from the Quichua as the " Smily valley".