The bay is located on the southern side of Ombai Strait, immediately to the north of the similarly named Dili municipality.

Its waters were calm, and the combination of Capes Fatucama and Tibar, and the offshore island of Atauro, provided shelter for ships at anchor.

Although the terrain on the bay's shores was swampy and unhealthy, there was also arable land that could be used for the cultivation of cereals, and a supply of drinking water.

[6] In the 1950s, Dili was reconstructed, according to a plan that included the siting of residential nuclei along the two-lane, one-way street now known as Avenida Marginal [de], on the shore of the bay.

The following day, after capturing the city, Indonesian soldiers led groups of civilians, including members of Fretilin and others, from various locations to the Dili wharf, and shot them.

[14] The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has said that reliable data on East Timor's fishery resources are scant.