In the 1981, while digging to construct the Seville Metro, remains of a 10th-century ship and a two-meter-long 6th century Byzantine anchor were found under the plaza.

The convent and its gardens extended beyond the bounds of where the modern-day plaza is located, reaching as far as present day Calle Zaragoza.

[3] During the occupation of Seville by Napoleonic troops in the 19th century, the convent suffered great structural damage, including a fire in 1810.

[1] In the center of the plaza is an equestrian statue of Fernando III who conquered Seville for the Christians in 1248, and later was declared a saint by the Catholic church in 1671.

The monument is the work of Spanish architect Juan Talavera y Heredia and sculptor Joaquín Bilbao, and was inaugurated in August 1924.