 Onor (Modern Honnavar) was located on the banks of the Sharavathi River, two miles (3 km) upstream from the mouth, where the river widened into a lake. Built strategically on a cliff overlooking the river, the Portuguese fort contained homes for thirty casados (married settlers). A natural sandbank kept out the large ocean-going ships, and left the harbour accessible only to small craft. Approximately, 35 miles (56 km) farther upstream, the Portuguese maintained a weighing station at Gersoppa, where they purchased the pepper. During the latter part of the 16th century and the first half of the 17th, Onor became not only the principal port for the export of Kanara pepper, but also the most important Portuguese supply point for pepper in all of Asia.
