Most of the time, bastides were built in sparsely populated areas. They were founded to attract economic activities that would make these sites a centre to attract people to live and work there. Above all, the bastides made it possible to assert royal authority at the expense of the lords. If the need arose, they were transformed into fortresses with the construction of a wall.
For economic reasons, the sites chosen were often located on major land or river routes. Sometimes strategic and military reasons determined the location.
In the case of Molières, it was necessary to monitor and populate a forest area that had become dangerous for pilgrims travelling to the abbey of Cadouin *. Moreover, this area, between the Dordogne and the Couze rivers was in the extreme north of the area governed by an English vassal. It was a frontier area that needed to be controlled by an active administrative and economic presence.