[2] The Puerto de Aguilas, close to the centre of the city, is flanked on its western side by a large rocky hill.

The remains of a Roman wall are still visible, as are a couple of structures of the early 20th century built by an eccentric British lord who lived on the island and used it for contraband purposes.

With little to no local Iberian presence, the Roman town was founded during the Augustan period on the same isthmus where the city lies today.

During this period, in the 5th century, an impressive construction project began on Isla del Fraile, where a considerable number of rooms for the production of fish sauces have been found.

The minuscule island of Fraile, 100 metres (110 yd) off the coast, was owned by the Scottish banker John Gray, who sold it in 1910 to the British Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Borthwick, who in turn transferred ownership to his son Hugh, with the overt aim of exploiting its quarry.

At the end stands the slender figure of the Chimenea de la Loma (Chimney on the Hill) on the west side of town, a symbol of the mineral boom of the last century.

During the Restoration, owing to the great investment by the British, a route was laid between Lorca, Baza and Águilas in order to transport esparto and other exported minerals, making the town one of the principal ports of the Mediterranean.

It is in this period that the Hornillo Pier, a great architectural work of the time made of iron and concrete, was constructed.

In front of the Hornillo Pier, on the Isle of Fraile, Scottish aristocrat Hugh Pakenham Borthwick, called Don Hugo by the locals, took up residence in 1912.

During World War I Borthwick worked as a British spy and alerted a liaison officer whenever a ship from Germany or from a neutral country left the pier carrying iron ore.

Today, the economy of the locality depends principally on summertime tourism by middle-class visitors and the intensive agriculture of greenhouse vegetables.