Centuries ago, the White Knife River was infested with pirates, until the Stark Kings of Winter drove them away. Generations later (but still before the Targaryen Conquest), the Starks granted the rich lands around the mouth of the river to House Manderly, an exiled family fleeing from the Reach where they used to hold lands along the Mander River. Under the rule of House Manderly, White Harbor prospered and grew into the North's main port, and only settlement large enough to be called a "city".