The fort was one of series of built along the extension of Dere Street, a Roman road running from York to Corbridge and onwards to Melrose, in Scotland.

The fort's name is derived from the word Habitanci inscribed on an altar set up by Marcus Gavius Secundinus, a consular beneficiary on duty there.

It was destroyed in c. 197 AD but was rebuilt under Septimius Severus by the First Cohort of Vangiones (nominally one thousand strong) in 205-8 on a different orientation to which the surviving earthworks belong.

The 3rd-century garrison was the First Cohort of Vangiones, as well as a Numerus Exploratorum (Unit of Scouts) and a detachment of Raeti Gaesati (pikemen).

The only visible stone remains lie at the north-eastern corner angle, but the outlines of many buildings can easily be made out beneath a layer of turf in the fort's interior, as can the ditches on all sides.