 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 . 
