The establishment of the City of San Francisco de Campeche as a port on the Gulf of Mexico facilitated the conquest of the Yucatan peninsula and allowed the shipment of New Spanish products, particularly the palo de tinte to Spain. Starting in 1559, the pirate invasions of the Villa de Campeche began, particularly led by Pie de palo, Diego El Mulato and Lorencillo.

Faced with this situation, the Spanish decided to build an octagon-shaped wall with irregular sides and a bastion at each vertex. As an entrance to the city they built four gates, two of which are known as the sea gate and the land gate. At the north and south ends of the city and located in the highest parts and near the sea, they built two forts with their respective cannon batteries, known as El Fuerte de San Miguel and El Fuerte de San José el Alto.

Until the year 1863, the old district of Campeche belonged to the state of Yucatán, and due to various political and economic crises it was established as an independent state.