After the outbreak of the war with Bantam (Banten) on 22 August 1656, the high Government in Batavia decided to build schansen (earthworks) at strategic points in the Ommelanden (areas around Batavia). The earthwork Rijswijk (I), which was designed by surveyor Johannes Listingh, consisted of a rectangular stone redoubt within an earthen rampart and a moat. The fort lay about three kilometres south of the city of Batavia between the rice fields on the East side of Kali Krokot. It owed the name Rijswijk to the rice fields. The earthwork controlled the access along the kali Krokot and the connection between the Molenvliet and the Krokot. In 1668 a new fort was built about 500 metres further east, at the connection of the Molenvliet on the Nieuwe Vaart to Noordwijk, as a replacement of the existing fort, which was likewise called Rijswijk (II) . The old fort was abandoned in 1697 and demolished in 1720. There are no visible remains of the fort today.
