The Gochevsky archaeological complex was discovered in 1909 near the village of Gochevo (Gochevskoye settlement) in the Oboyan district of the Kursk province on the high right bank of the Psel River by archaeologist Professor D. Ya. Samokvasov. In 1940 and 1941, excavations were conducted here by the renowned archaeologist B. A. Rybakov, who uncovered twisted glass bracelets, metallurgical furnaces for steel smelting, battle axes, spearheads, and arrowheads. Numerous human skeletons were found in the earthworks covered with ash, indicating that the city was surrounded by enemies, and its inhabitants could not escape. The city was located on a steep hundred-meter cape, surrounded to the south and east by a bend of the river, to the north by a deep and wide ravine, and to the west by a fortress rampart.

The archaeological complex near the village of Gochevo includes two settlements, the Tsarsky Palace, and the Steep Barrow, an extensive settlement, a flat burial ground, and a barrow necropolis. Until recently, the monument was dated to the end of the 10th and the second half of the 12th century and was considered a significant city of Ancient Rus, located on a busy trade route between Kiev and Bulgar. It was introduced into scientific circulation in 1909 after exploratory work conducted by a member of the Kursk provincial scientific archival commission, K. P. Sosnovsky. In the same year, Professor D. Ya. Samokvasov began the first studies of the monument.

A total of 287 mounds of the main barrow array were excavated, including 5 mounds of Zagorodye and 4 plowed mounds near the village of Bushmino, as well as small excavations at the Tsarsky Barrow settlement. From 1912 to 1915, these works were continued by members of the St. Petersburg and Moscow archaeological societies P. S. Rykov, V. N. Glazov, and V. S. Lvovich. In total, they excavated 351 barrows.

In 1937 and 1939, work was conducted at the Steep Barrow settlement under the guidance of B. A. Rybakov. After the Great Patriotic War, exploratory work was carried out at the complex. Since 1994, protective work at the barrow burial ground has been conducted by the Gochevskaya Ancient Rus Expedition of the Kursk State Regional Museum of Archaeology.

Over the years, an extensive flat burial ground has been discovered in the northeastern part of the settlement, where 5 burials have been studied, protective excavations of 25 barrows have been conducted, and the chronological framework of the existence of this ancient Rus city has been clarified: the end of the 10th and the end of the 14th century. Since 2003, research has begun in the southwestern part of the settlement.