It was situated roughly 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the coast on a hill some 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level in the area which is now covered by the city's northern suburbs.

[1] The tower was one of a series of watchtowers built during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries to monitor the Strait of Gibraltar and Algeciras Bay.

Though, first mentioned in 1342,[2] the exact date of construction is unknown, although presumably it must have occurred shortly before the capture of the town of Tarifa in 1289 when the Campo de Gibraltar region began to assume importance as a land border.

In 1344, these troops were involved in the Battle of Río Palmones against Granada, which marked the end of the siege and the surrender of the city of Algeciras.

[4] The tower was surrounded by an octagonal mud wall, 80 inches (2,000 mm) thick and 3.5–4.5 metres (11–15 ft) high.