The crossing under the fort was the location for the 11 December 1878 meeting between Colony of Natal official John Shepstone and a delegation of Zulu indunas at which Shepstone presented an ultimatum to the Zulu. The ultimatum was harsh, demanding radical change in the Zulu way of life, and it was intended by the British that the Zulu king Cetshwayo would reject it and that this would serve as a casus belli for the Anglo-Zulu War. War was declared in January 1879 and British commander Lord Chelmsford commenced a three-pronged invasion of Zululand.
