The island fort, along with two small plots of land on either side of the Vançoso River, was part of Simbor, a tiny Portuguese exclave of about 1 square km which was subordinate to the government of Diu.

After having captured it and burned the pirates' vessels, the Portuguese then decided to develop the existing installation into a defensive position which was renamed Forte Santo António de Simbor.

A cistern was built since the supply of drinking water was a critical concern for the adequate defense of the position maintained by a garrison of 30 men.

This was not to be the case and some years later, officials suggested as a cost-saving measure to demolish the fort and use the material to clog the mouth of Vançoso River to prevent its use by pirates.

A report from 1889 pointed out that, despite the near total abandonment of the fort, the activities of fishermen in the waters of the enclave contributed to the small economy of Diu, being the main supply of the dried fish eaten by the population during the monsoon.

[5] The fort was completely abandoned following the departure of the Portuguese in 1961 and the structure continued to deteriorate, with large sections of the stone wall eventually collapsing.