A spring used to exist on the west side of Fort Canning Hill and served as a source of water in the early days of Singapore. The spring was called pancur larangan or forbidden spring, where the women of the ruler's household were said to bathe in ancient times. In the early period of the 19th century Singapore, the stream was used to provide clean drinking water for all ships stopping at the port until the demand exceeded the capacity by the 1830, and the spring then dried up as wells were dug around the hill. A cache of Javanese-style gold ornaments dating to the mid-14th century were discovered when workers were excavating for the reservoir at Fort Canning in 1928.