Capernaum, recorded only in the Gospel accounts, is located on the far northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It was, in New Testament times, one of Galilee's economic centers.
The city was significant enough to warrant a large Jewish population which was served by several synagogues. It was even large enough to justify its own tax collectors, one of which, Matthew, became one of Jesus' disciples.
And after going into the ship, He (Jesus) passed over and came to His own city . . . And passing from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and said to him, "Follow Me." And he arose and followed Him (Matthew 9:1, 9, HBFV, see also Mark 2:1,13 - 15).
No less than five of the original twelve apostles (James, John, Andrew, Peter and Matthew) had a home in Capernaum.
Although Jesus performed many mighty miracles in and around the city, the people initially rejected his message (Matthew 11:20 - 24). It is possible, however, that sometime later a small Christian community or church sprang up in Capernaum. Jewish synagogues, especially in the first century, were fertile grounds to plant the seeds of the gospel.
According to Holman's Bible Dictionary, second century A.D. Talmudic sources refer to the city as the home of Jewish heretics (Minim) who are generally believed to have been Jewish Christians.
"Talmudic sources of the second century refer to Capernaum as the home of some Jewish heretics (“Minim”) who are generally taken to have been Jewish Christians. An early Christian traveler, Egeria, in 381 - 384 A.D., reported a church on the site of the home of the apostle Peter . . ." (Holman Bible Dictionary).
Tyndale's Bible Dictionary states that, as early as the first half of the second century, the area believed to be Peter's house in Capernaum had served as an assembly hall (church building) for early Christians.