It was intended to facilitate the journey between Jaffa and Jerusalem, and was part of Abu Nabbut's rehabilitation efforts in the city.

During inquiries in Jaffa in the 1870s, Clermont-Ganneau encountered a master mason named Ali Sida of whom he wrote: "This man, now of advanced age, directed all the works that were set on foot at the beginning of the century by the legendary Abu Nabbut, Governor of Jaffa, the same that gave his name to the pretty fountain, or Sebil Abu Nabbut..."[4] The building is a small rectangular stone structure with three domes with a sabil (fountain) in the middle.

The principal building material is kurkar stone, with some reused limestone blocks incorporated into the masonry, and marble used for decoration.

[5] The principal façade of the sabil is its western side, with the fountain contained within a large shallow niche framed with cyma reversa moulding.

In the centre of the east side is a doorway opening into the domed room at the back of the sabil.