The smoke signals from the tower warned of presence of an unknown boat close to the coast, and thanks to this, the population saved themselves from the possible dangers of facing the Berber pirates. This watchtower, although now part of the town, before looked over the coastline and salt flats.
This tower, which was also called the Old Tower of the Port or the Saint Isabel Tower, has been declared of Cultural Interest and is located on an elevated promontory which dominates the port, the whole coastline and the nearby salt flats. The different extensions of this mean that today it falls within the residential area of Mazarrón port.
Fishing and agriculture, and by extension the settlement of Mazarrón, would have been unthinkable without the existence from the 16th Century onwards of a network of watchtowers due to the Berber pirate incursions. The insecurity of the assaults made it necessary to protect the coastline with lookout and control buildings such as the Hill Tower.
They were built at the request of the Genoan merchant and businessman Baltasar Rey, who was linked to the salting industry.
This is a circular, two-floor building with large walls. As was typical in towers of this period, the entrance was on the upper floor, which was possibly accessed via a rope ladder. Following an intervention in the 18th Century an access was made on the lower floor. It has a terrace on the highest point and a water deposit on a lower floor. During the years of the assaults a military garrison was responsible for the vigilance duties, but it had a piece of artillery in the event there was an enemy attack. But mainly the population was warned via smoke signals during the day or by a bonfire at night.