The walls surrounding Tarifa are in essence, the result of many different building and restoration phases. Two principal arrangements can be considered.

The first one corresponds to the Islamic occupation period, that includes the old town (medina) millennia, during which the southern zone of the city was closed off. The remains of this period can be seen in the cliffs giving way to the Straits. The Almedina door is the only thing left form this period.

After the Christian conquest, the medina expanded up to the present walls which were built between the 15th and 16th centuries. From this second system of defense, only one gate remains: the Puerta de Jerez, to the north of the city.