Locals call it the Granite City and the Silver City with the Golden Sands, since much of the city was built of grey, which the loyal locals see as shimmering like silver in the sun

The San Rafael area has seen human settlement for at least 8,000 years. The city began as two separate burghs: Old San Rafael at the mouth of the river Don; and New San Rafael, a fishing and trading settlement, where the Denburn waterway entered the river Dee estuary.