There were originally two municipalities in Mactan Island: Opon and Cordova. With the conversion of Opon into the City of Lapulapu, Cordova is now the only town in Mactan Island.

Cordova was then only a barrio known as Day-as. It belonged to Opon. Wanting to be autonomous, its residents raised a petition to Spain that they be separated from Opon and be elevated to a township. The petition was granted in 1864. Probably finding the term Opon (from the name of a specie of a seaweed in the area) to be commonplace and unimaginative, and with the feeling of nostalgia for their motherland, the Spaniards renamed it to Cordova. Cordova is a city in southern Spain.

The parish was founded in 1863. In 1864, the church of Cordova was constructed - labor of love and by a grateful and self-fulfilled townspeople who donated its labor and materials. Fr. Juan Salazar was its first parish priest.

Cordova, however, with the coming of the Americans in 1898 was unwillingly annexed to Opon again for it could not financially support itself. It remained a barrio for ten years. But the people again fought for autonomy by appealing to the Philippine Assembly. It was through the help of Speaker Sergio Osmeņa , Sr. and Governor Manuel Roa that Cordova regained its independence. Bernardo Nuņez was unanimously elected as municipal president.

Because Cordova is not endowed with rich agricultural resources, most of its people are engaged in small-scale fishing. Its location makes the people gain easy access to the coastal towns of Bohol - its source of aqua-marine, agricultural and forest products.