The fort is made of bricks 50 to 180 centimeters in thickness. The 2000 Enggano earthquake, which registered 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale, and of 2007, with its 3.5-meter tsunami, had no effect on the strongly built fort.

The fort has a rectangular layout, with an arrowhead-shaped bastion on each corner. The entrance to the fort is in the southwest, protected by a ravelin. A dry moat follows the trace of the fort. A wooden bridge spans the ditch that separates the main building from the front building. The southwest side has an arch entrance with a wooden door. The fort encompasses 2.7 hectares, and stands on a site of 4.4 hectares.

The British East India Company built the fort between 1713–1719. In 1714 Governor Collett obtained permission to build a new fort in Bencoolen. He named the new fort, which he built two miles from the older fort (Fort York), Fort Marlborough.

The fort was built on an artificial hill, and construction, using both convict and local labor, took several years to complete. During that period, the civil officers and the military garrison were divided between the old and the new fort.

According to wikipedia