[1] The original Portuguese fort was a weak structure, which, according to the account of João Ribeyro; "Negombo was only a square enclosed by walls, with two redoubts and five guns.

A Captain and a few men, with a Chaplain were stationed there" [2]It was captured by Dutch forces commanded by Philip Lucasz, in February 1640.

They then strengthened the fortifications and managed to defend the fort until it was recaptured by the Dutch under the command of François Caron, in January 1644.

The Dutch subsequently rebuilt it in 1672 however not on the usual square pattern, but on a pentagonal one, though it had only four bulwarks, the fifth was never constructed (possibly due to the cost).

[1] Today all that remains is a section of the eastern rampart with mounds at its northern and Southern ends, where the previous bastions existed, and a recessed arched gateway.