Before the existence of the Via Egnatia, ancient routes already passed from Durrës along the valleys of the Erzen and Shkumbin rivers. Strabo wrote that whoever controlled the Kandavia Road—the Illyrian segment of the later Via Egnatia—controlled key regions such as Illyria and Macedonia. Where the Kandavia Road ended, Macedonia began.

Early historical sources suggest that Phoenician traders followed this route to reach the Adriatic during the Bronze Age (A. Stipčević, Illyrians: Life and Culture, p. 46). The same Erzen valley route was later used by Greek colonists during their expansion in the 6th century BCE, as they sought to control inland communication routes beyond Durrës and Apollonia. This indicates that the Kandavia Road is older than the Via Egnatia itself.

The route passed from Durrës through Ndroq, along the Erzen Valley to Dorëz and Petrelë, through the Krrabë mountains, and onward into the Shkumbin Valley, continuing toward Macedonia.

Here are three ancient roads

• Durrës → Erzen Valley → Dorëz → Pezë e Vogël → Vrap → Peqin (connecting to Via Egnatia)
• Durrës → Ndroq → Arbanë → Baldushk → Krrabë → Shkumbin Valley → Macedonia via Via Egnatia
• Durrës- Prezë- Dibër- Macedonia

Through this itinerary, we will travel from Tirana to Peza and Dorëz castle, which belongs to the proto-Illyrian period, the Bronze Age, and enjoy the nature in the village of Peza. Then travel to Ndroqi Castle and then to Preza Castle. All these hills were part of ancient roads, showing that Tirana was part of ancient civilization.