It was located on the north shore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River, in modern-day Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada.

It and Grand Portage to the west were the starting points of the early Canadian canoe routes from the Great Lakes to western Canada.

[1] In 1717 Zacharie Robutel de la Noue was sent west to find the western sea.

Coureurs des bois seem to have spread out from the fort, but we only know of them from rumors picked up by the English on Hudson Bay.

La Vérendrye took over the postes du nord in 1728 and in 1731–1743 he pushed trade and exploration west beyond Lake Winnipeg, mainly via Grand Portage using Kaministiquia as a base.