At that time, to secure its residents and territory, a fort was built in the area, named Vijfhoek fort .

To speed up the transportation route between the three gates in the fort, transportation roads were made, with the main road named Heerenstraat . Currently named Jl. Letjen Soeprapto. One of the locations of the fort gates that still exist today is the Berok Bridge, called De Zuider Por . The word Berok itself is the result of the pronunciation of the indigenous people who had difficulty pronouncing the word Burg in Dutch .

Around the Old City, water canals were built, the existence of which can still be seen today, although not well maintained. This is what caused the Old City to be nicknamed "Little Netherland". Its location, which is separate from the landscape similar to a city in Europe , and the canals that surround it make the Old City seem like a miniature of the Netherlands in Semarang.

It started with the signing of an agreement between the Mataram Sultanate and the VOC on January 15, 1678. At that time, Amangkurat II handed over Semarang to the VOC as payment because the VOC had succeeded in helping Mataram crush the Trunojoyo rebellion . After Semarang was under the full control of the VOC, the city began to be built. A fort called Vijfhoek which was used as a residence for Dutch citizens and a military center began to be built. Over time, the fort was not sufficient so that residents began to build houses outside the east side of the fort. Not only residents' houses, government buildings and offices were also built.

In 1740-1743, the Geger Pacinan incident occurred , the biggest resistance during the VOC's rule on Java Island. After the resistance ended, a fortification was built around the Old City area of ​​Semarang. After that, because it was considered not in accordance with the increasingly rapid development of the city, this fortification was dismantled in 1824. To commemorate the existence of the bull that surrounded the old city, the existing streets were given names such as Noorderwalstaat (North Wall Street - Now Merak Street), Oosterwalstraat (East Wall Street - Now Cendrawasih Street), Zuiderwalstraat (South Wall Street - Now Kepodang Street) and also Westerwaalstraat (West Wall Street - Now Mpu Tantular Street).