It was built to allow timber to be transported (floated) to the Halden sawmills.

The canal was 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) long and had 16 locks which extended from Lake Skjervangen at an elevation of 185 metres (607 ft) above sea level up to Lake Mortsjølungen at 201 metres (659 ft) above sea level.

The channel consisted of the original 16 locks between Skjervangen and Mortskjølungen.

The Grasmobanen, a 1,460-metre (4,790 ft) long railroad that hauled the timber between the lakes Mortsjølungen and Tvillingtjern, was also part of the canal system.

[3] In 1987, the municipality of Eidskog acquired rights to the countercurrent sluice system and labeled it a landmark attraction.