赤坎，古称赤坎港、赤坎埠。1968年，成立赤坎区，隶属湛江市管辖。赤坎是明、清两代雷州半岛主要港口商埠，商业货栈和民居集中在今赤坎区民主路、大通街——当初的一线临海地带。商船货物从此处启航，东北通吴川、高州，东南出今湛江港通闽、浙、潮、广和南洋，历数百年。古码头一带原有闽浙会馆、广州会馆、潮州会馆、高州会馆和雷阳会馆，大通街内清代至民国期间货栈林立，现部分建筑尚存。
赤坎埠古码头旧址位于广东省湛江市赤坎区（前身赤坎埠）民主路与大通街之间，现存明清两代石砌踏跺式码头（渡头）十处，码头自西向东，均用青石条叠砌成踏跺，宽度、长度、高程依坡坎而定，各不相同。其中五、八、十号古码头旧址均有淡水井。
In ancient times, this place was called Chikan Port.In 1968, Chikan District was established, under the jurisdiction of Zhanjiang City.Chikan Port was the main commercial port of Leizhou Peninsula in the Ming and Qing dynasties.Warehouses and residential buildings were concentrated in the seafront area at that time, which is located on Datong Street and Minzhu Road in Chikan District now.Merchant ships and goods sailed from here to various places as far as Southeast Asia, it was lasting for hundreds of years.Previously, there were Fujian Guild Hall,Zhejiang Guild Hall, Guangzhou Guild Hall, Chaozhou Guild Hall, Gaozhou Guild Hall and Leiyang Guild Hall in the ancient dock area.Now some of the buildings still exist.
Nowadays, the former site of ancient Chikan Port's wharfs are located between Minzhu Road and Datong Street in Chikan District, Zhanjiang City, Guangdong Province.There are ten wharfs in the Ming and Qing dynasties.They run from the west to the east, and all made of bluestone by stacking.The width, length and elevation vary according to the slope.Among them, there are fresh water wells at the old sites of ancient docks No. 5, 8 and 10.