It ceased to be the provincial capital in 1866 in favor of the city of Huacho and is part of the conurbation formed around the latter by means of two bridges over the Huaura River [es].

The city's main square houses the Huaura Museum, the site of the proclamation of the independence of Peru by José de San Martín in 1820.

[1] On November 27, 1820, José de San Martín proclaimed the independence of Peru from a balcony [es] in an old Viceregal house that originally belonged to the Royal Customs of Lima, working today as the city's museum.

[5] In 1920, festivities were held in the town's balcony as part of the Centennial of the Independence of Peru organised by the second government of Augusto B.

[2][3] On July 24, 1985, members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) broke into the city's historic museum and stole a replica of the sable used by San Martín, the original first flag of Peru designed by San Martín and a replica of an Argentine flag.