The Bead Hill site is believed to contain the archaeological remains of the village of Ganatsekwyagon.
French missionaries and explorers arrived at Ganatsekwyagon in 1669.
François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon passed the winter of 1669 in the village, which was the first recorded residence of Europeans in the neighbourhood of Toronto.
 François-Saturnin Lascaris d'Urfé may have also spent the winter of 1669 in Ganatsekwyagon with Abbé Fénelon but the records are unclear.

The village was an important fur trading post and was part of the regional power struggle between the French, British, and Iroquois.
The Comte de Frontenac wrote to Louis XIV of France in the fall of 1674 that the Iroquois "have given their word not to continue the trade, which as I informed you last year, they had commenced to establish at Ganatsekwyagon, with the Ottawas, which would have absolutely ruined ours by the transfer of the furs to the Dutch."

Tensions between the Iroquois and French led to a number of conflicts over the course of the 17th century which are collectively known as the Beaver Wars, which would gravely affect Ganatsekwyagon.
In 1687, the French, led by the Marquis de Denonville, began a campaign against the Senecas in northwest New York state.
Denonville destroyed most of the Seneca villages in New York.
It is unclear whether the French also destroyed Ganatsekwyagon and other Iroquois villages on the North Shore of Lake Ontario in his 1687 campaign, or if the villages were abandoned as the Iroquois on the north shore of Lake Ontario retreated to New York state.
Iroquois villages were usually temporary and tended to shift to a new location every 10–20 years.
Therefore, it is not unusual that villages were abandoned.
Regardless of the exact reason, following the 1687 campaign the Iroquois were restricted to south of Lake Ontario and Ganatsekwyagon was abandoned.

Because early Europeans had difficulty in transcribing First Nations names into European orthographic systems, numerous spelling variations exist.
Alternate names for the village included:
Gandat Siagon
Ganatsekwyagon
Ganacheieskiagon
Gandatsetiagon
Gandatsekwyagon
Ganatchekiagon
Gandatsiagon
Ganetsekiagon
Gandatsekiagon
Gandatsdhagon
Kanatiochtiage
Ganastiquiagon
Gandalskiagon
Le Portage de Toronto
Toronto Carrying Place
Toronto Portage
The Bead Hill site is believed to contain the archaeological remains of the village of Ganatsekwyagon. French missionaries and explorers arrived at Ganatsekwyagon in 1669. François de Salignac de la Mothe-Fénelon passed the winter of 1669 in the village, which was the first recorded residence of Europeans in the neighbourhood of Toronto.  François-Saturnin Lascaris d'Urfé may have also spent the winter of 1669 in Ganatsekwyagon with Abbé Fénelon but the records are unclear.
The village was an important fur trading post and was part of the regional power struggle between the French, British, and Iroquois. The Comte de Frontenac wrote to Louis XIV of France in the fall of 1674 that the Iroquois "have given their word not to continue the trade, which as I informed you last year, they had commenced to establish at Ganatsekwyagon, with the Ottawas, which would have absolutely ruined ours by the transfer of the furs to the Dutch."
Tensions between the Iroquois and French led to a number of conflicts over the course of the 17th century which are collectively known as the Beaver Wars, which would gravely affect Ganatsekwyagon. In 1687, the French, led by the Marquis de Denonville, began a campaign against the Senecas in northwest New York state. Denonville destroyed most of the Seneca villages in New York. It is unclear whether the French also destroyed Ganatsekwyagon and other Iroquois villages on the North Shore of Lake Ontario in his 1687 campaign, or if the villages were abandoned as the Iroquois on the north shore of Lake Ontario retreated to New York state. Iroquois villages were usually temporary and tended to shift to a new location every 10–20 years. Therefore, it is not unusual that villages were abandoned. Regardless of the exact reason, following the 1687 campaign the Iroquois were restricted to south of Lake Ontario and Ganatsekwyagon was abandoned.
Because early Europeans had difficulty in transcribing First Nations names into European orthographic systems, numerous spelling variations exist. Alternate names for the village included:
Gandat Siagon
Ganatsekwyagon
Ganacheieskiagon
Gandatsetiagon
Gandatsekwyagon
Ganatchekiagon
Gandatsiagon
Ganetsekiagon
Gandatsekiagon
Gandatsdhagon
Kanatiochtiage
Ganastiquiagon
Gandalskiagon
Le Portage de Toronto
Toronto Carrying Place
Toronto Portage
Bead Hill