Tanauan was among the earliest lake shore towns established by the Augustinian missionaries (together with Taal, Lipa, Bauan and Sala) in Batangas around the late 16th century. Founded in 1584, the town was established at the northern shore of the Taal Lake (originally called Bonbon) near the foot of Tagaytay Ridge, which was described by a Spanish priest Fray Juan de Medina OSA as a truly frightful hill for more than one legua as one descends from Manila. Together with its founding was the building of the church and convent out of wooden materials. The wooden church was then replaced by a stone structure around 1732 as indicated in a Spanish historical document, which states the exemption of Tanauan from paying annual contributions to the monastery of San Agustin in Manila as the money was being used for the construction of their church. However, the stone church was short lived due to the violent eruption of the Taal Volcano in 1754, which devastated the towns around the lake; including Tanauan. Volcanic debris created blockage at the mouth of the Pansipit River south of Lake Taal, causing the water level of the lake to rise and submerge the northern and eastern lake shore towns. The rising flood waters, together with the series of earthquakes that were felt prior to the eruption, led the inhabitants of Tanauan to relocate to its present location, abandoning their old town.