The village in Ottoman Turkish was called Yukarı Kotor.[3] In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, Ano Kottori was populated by 60 Christian Albanians and 168 Bulgarians.[4] Kanchov wrote that Christian Albanians of the late Ottoman period in Ano Kottori were increasingly being assimilated by its Bulgarian population.[5]
In the early twentieth century, Kato Kotori was involved with the Bulgarian national movement.[5]
Ano Idrousa had 333 inhabitants in 1981.[6] In fieldwork done by anthropologist Riki Van Boeschoten in late 1993, Ano Idrousa was populated by Slavophones and Arvanites.[6] The Macedonian language was used by people of all ages, both in public and private settings, and as the main language for interpersonal relationships.[6] Some elderly villagers had little knowledge of Greek.[6]