From coastal defense towers to 20th-century patrol zones, the southern Orihuela Costa once guarded Spain’s frontier at sea.
Before becoming one of the Costa Blanca’s most popular residential and tourist areas, Cabo Roig and Punta Prima formed part of a strategic military coastline stretching from La Zenia to Campoamor.
Cabo Roig’s 16th-century watchtower, built to warn of pirate raids from North Africa, marked the heart of this defensive system. By 1915, the Spanish Carabineros Corps — a coastal and customs police force — established a permanent barracks near the cape, later integrated into the Guardia Civil. This became the “Destacamento Teniente Morejón,” which remains an active but classified military installation today.
During the mid-20th century, particularly under Franco’s regime, the Cabo Roig post supervised a broader surveillance zone that included Punta Prima and La Zenia. These points served as secondary lookouts and, according to military mapping archives, hosted temporary radio or observation posts connected to the main detachment. In the 1970s and 1980s, the site was used by Spanish special-operations units (COE-31 and GOE) for coastal training.
Although no permanent base existed at Punta Prima, the area fell within Cabo Roig’s military security perimeter — known locally as the “zona de seguridad militar.” Today, only the old tower and a few remnants of the barracks recall this long defensive history, standing quietly amid modern urbanizations that have replaced the once-militarized coast.
