In the new system of Indian defense another position of considerable strategic value was the place long known as 'Palachacolas,’ at the extreme western corner of Granville county, on the left bank of the Savannah, opposite the deserted Palachacola Old Town. Thirty miles by land from Port Royal, a five days' row upstream, this had long been an important stage on the traders' route to the interior. Moreover, it commanded the usual route of invasion of Yamasee and other raiders. A company of rangers had been established there for a number of years when, in 1723, the assembly appropriated £400 for the building of a small palisaded fort, equipped with light cannon. William Bellinger was appointed to command, with a lieutenant, a sergeant, and nineteen privates, later reduced to fourteen, and then to ten. Once a fortnight this garrison was required to range down to the old 'Indian Land' about the Coosawhatchie and Tulafina Rivers, and northward also towards the traders' path from CharlesTown to Fort Moore. Their special duty was to maintain the bounds of the Indian hunt at the Savannah River. Inducements similar to those at Savannah Town were made in the hope of attracting settlers. 7 [Note 7 Statutes, III; JC, February 23, 1723; C.O. Smith incorrectly located the fort on the Georgia side of the river; but see C.O. Maps.]