Peam

Peam, later known as Hà Tiên, grew into a trading port on the Gulf of Siam at the western edge of the Mekong delta. Its harbour connected the waterways of Cambodia with maritime routes across Southeast Asia. Merchants and settlers of different origins gathered here, and the port became a meeting place for the interests of Cambodia, Siam and the Nguyễn rulers of southern Vietnam.

In the late seventeenth century the Chinese adventurer Mạc Cửu established his authority in the area. Threatened by Siamese and Cambodian rivals, he pledged allegiance to the Nguyễn lord in 1708. His son Mạc Thiên Tứ succeeded him in 1735 and developed Hà Tiên into a flourishing entrepôt. The family maintained its position through diplomacy and commerce amid the rivalries of neighbouring powers.

The later city of Kep lies here.