Santubong

Beneath Mount Santubong, near the mouth of the Sarawak River, lay one of western Borneo's important early trading centers. The river gave access to a forested hinterland rich in camphor, resin and rattan, while ships arriving from the South China Sea brought goods from farther afield. Chinese ceramics, glass beads and religious images found in the area testify to these connections.

Santubong also had a substantial iron-working industry. Slag found at sites such as Sungai Jaong and Bongkisam lies alongside imported ceramics, many dating from the Song and early Yuan periods. The settlement's most active centuries appear to have been the twelfth and thirteenth, before the close of the medieval era. Its remains reveal a coast where local production and overseas exchange met long before later colonial ports emerged.

The later city of Kuching lies here.