The Crusaders called the stream River Rochetaillé ("Split-rock River") because of the long narrow rock channel, cut artificially at some former period through the inland cliffs, by which the river finds a channel to the sea shore. On 6 September 1191, the night before the Battle of Arsuf, the Crusaders camped near the mouth of River Rochetaillé; by then, the opening in the ridge had clogged again, resulting in a 4000-dunam marsh, which protected the Crusaders' camp from the east.
