The Serra do Soajo has, since ancient times, been an area used for grazing, farming and exploitation of natural resources, especially water, firewood and stone. Manmade structures feature in the landscape, providing evidence of such land use, examples being the livestock enclosures with their stone wall boundaries, in which the livestock would be contained and left to graze.

Many of these structures retain their original function, requiring minimal maintenance activity from generation to generation.

These mountain enclosures, the upland cattle pastures (brandas) and their associated shelters (abrigos), as well as the livestock tracks, are all elements that form part of the landscape of the upland areas of the PNPG.