A long, narrow strip of coastal town in the Eastern District of the Province of Aklan, the Municipality of New Washington stretches downward, bounding the estuary of the Batan Bay to the south-easternmost, where its long, bending coastlines face the vast Sibuyan Sea on the eastern seaboard. On the western side of the peninsula, it is bordered by the smooth brackish water of the Batan Bay and its tributaries, most prominently the Lagatik River.
Formerly known as “Fonda Lagatic” during the Spanish colonial rule, the municipality was a small but thriving river-bank settlement. It was named after the Lagatic River, where it is situated. As an important settlement within the“Batang” (present-day Batan) territory, just across the“Batang Bay” on its northeastern point, it offers a safe, natural harbor for“paraws”(small sailboats) and balandras (sea vessels) and a lucrative trading post.
Because of its strategic location, “Fonda Lagatic” was once the seat of power of the third Chieftain of “Akean”, “Datu Bindahara Kalantiaw”. “Datu Kalantiaw” was the descendant of one of the ten “Bornean Datus”, who according to the popular legend told in the Visayan Chronicle known as “Maragtas”, purchased the Island of Madya-as (present-day Panay Island) from “Marikudo”, the chieftain of the native “Aetas” who inhabited the island.