During the 17th century the river marked the eastern boundary of a growing settlement than ran as far as Guayanilla Bay, a region that came to be known as Ponce, but which today is part of a neighboring municipality.

The masonry building that housed the baths still exists on the northbound side of Puerto Rico Highway 503 in Barrio Portugués.

[7] The name Hato de Portugués has been traced back to the Puerto Rico General Registry of Lands of November 1800.

Towards the end of the 16th century, even before the birth of the village of Ponce, Don Pedro Rodríguez de Guzmán[8][note 1] established a small community and a store on the banks of Río Baramaya.

And, what is more, as time passed this unofficial name of the river was accidentally used to refer to the hato in that area, and thus, to today's Barrio Portugués.

The communities of Mameyes, El Vigia, and Jaime L. Drew, are located within the limits of barrio Portugués Urbano.

[12][13] On October 7, 1985, Ponce was the scene of this major tragedy, when at least 129 people died to a mudslide in the Mameyes sector of Barrio Portugués Urbano.

Barrio Portugués Urbano is home to Serralles Castle and Cruceta El Vigía, both tourist attractions.