Sibolga

Sibolga lies beside Tapian Nauli Bay on the western coast of Sumatra. Offshore islands shelter the bay, and the early trading harbor was associated with Poncan Ketek rather than the later mainland town. Merchants and carriers moved between the coast and the Batak interior; one local account remembers the mainland shore as a stopping place for people carrying salt inland. The sheltered bay brought seaborne trade close to the mountain routes.