Anvil Bay Anvil Bay is a body of water that borders the city of Anvil in Cyrodiil as well as the island of Stirk , and is a part of the Abecean Sea . It is inhabited by slaughterfish . History . The city of Anvil lies on the western coast of Cyrodiil , in a region known as the Gold Coast . Its ancient walls granite and gray marble have stood for millennia , a testament to the genius and skill of their builders , as they have repelled numerous attacks throughout the city ' s long history . Settlement and founding . The true beginning of Anvil as it is known today is not altogether clear . Popular belief is that it was the first major port town established by Reman Cyrodiil , founder of the Second Empire after the defeat of the Akaviri invasion . But some of the oldest scrolls in the castle library offer obscure counts that the city was actually one of the first Redguard settlements on Tamriel after the unknown fate of their ancestral homeland of Yokuda . Other counts argue instead that it was an Ayleid outpost and later taken over by Reman ' s forces after his rout and defeat of the Akaviri forces at Pale Pass . More reliable historical accounts place the city ' s founding sometime in the first century of the First Era . At first , it was only a stopover , a way station where maritime crews could rest and take on supplies during long voyages . As time went on , a few farsighted people recognized and took advantage of the business opportunity at a maritime way station and built a tavern and an inn for wayfaring seamen . It wasn ' t long before a town and market sprang up to accommodate the overland travelers and their caravans . As the town grew , so did the docks . By 1E 345 , it had grown into a prosperous port with commerce from every corner of the continent flowing through it : exotic spices from Elsweyr ; rare metals from Skyrim ; potent medicines from Black Marsh ; unique armor and weapons from Morrowind ; trained warriors and from Hammerfell and High Rock ; expert trackers and hunters from Valenwood ; and master magicians from the Summerset Isles . By the end of the First Era , it had survived several assaults and sieges , cementing its reputation as indestructible . Resources and industry . Anvil is a port town centered around the sizable harbor outside its western wall and has few resources of its own beyond hunting , fishing and the few silver and iron mines that dot the region , relying instead on the flow of maritime trade crossing its docks . Industry banks mainly on the refinement of these metals and then forming them into weapons and farming equipment . Military power and defense . Due to its position on the western coast , Anvil has a formidable city guard as well as a garrison of Imperial Legionnaires and a small fleet of warships consisting of sloops and frigates . Its walls are thick and constructed of granite and gray marble , two of the hardest and heaviest stones in existence , capable of withstanding withering punishment . The Altmer laid siege to the city in 2E 878 and fled a month later when the Imperial Navy arrived . While not the most defensible position , being at the crossroads of all western naval forces makes it a much sought - after prize .