An important trade route between the interior and the ports on the Adriatic coast passed near Rakovo Škocjan. Church of St. Cancijana was built in the Middle Ages, in the sixteenth century at the latest. The date of construction is unknown, but the locals built it because the village chapel became too small. St. Kancijan was chosen because he is the protector of the persecuted. It is likely that the setting up of the church has a connection with the Turkish invasions. Locals from the surrounding area hid from the attackers in Rakovo Škocjan, and it is possible that they built the church so that they could ask for protection from persecution in it.
For the first time, the church is mentioned in 1526 precisely in connection with the tax for defense against the Turks. The church was rebuilt in 1616, and the exterior was surrounded by a low wall. Inside the walls there was a bell tower, the chapel of St. Benedict and the cemetery. Outside the walls, there was a brick townhouse and two wooden outbuildings. The complex was inhabited at least until 1780.
When the threat of Turkish invasions ended, the inhabitants settled closer to the plains in the area of today's Rakek. Church of St. They continued to visit Kancijan for a while, until they built a new one in their place. Due to the emperor's order, which forbade the supply of churches that stood alone, the church rapidly fell into disrepair. Already in the middle of the nineteenth century, only the last part of the church was under the roof, and today only low ruins peek out from the undergrowth.