The Mormugao Fort is located in the northwestern point of Salcette and guards the entrance to the port of Vasco. The fort is situated just north of the city of Vasco and south of the harbor. It was in 1624 that the construction of the Marmagoa Fort was started, and later the Portuguese Viceroy even moved to the fort. The fort was later abandoned by the Portuguese due to the repeated attacks by the Maratha warriors and the capital was shifted to old Goa.

The Marmagoa Fort was once an impressive monument, with a circumference of six miles and many cannons and guns around. The fort with all these defense mechanisms proved futile against the Maratha warriors, which eventually led to its abandonment. The only structures that remain today are the chapel and the fort wall. This fort lies on the western coast of Goa, and at one time it contained three magazines, a chapel, five prisons and huge bulwarks. There were two beautiful fountains within the fort area. The Fonte de Malabar kept the royal arms and was said to bob up from a gold mine and the Fonte de Santo Ignacio which had a more modest beginning in a Sulphur mine. Most of these fountains have disappeared and what remain now are only the chapel and a portion of the fort walls.