Ingouville and its hillside, a fully-fledged municipality before the city walls were destroyed, were a busy area, from the creation of the city until the 20th century. During the Renaissance, Guillaume de Marceilles (c. 1517-1594), described the Ingouville gate, at a time when the city was fortified. This gate was also mentioned by Marie Le Masson Le Golft (1749-1826) during the Enlightenment. Louis Augustin Pinel (1752-1833), man of law, merchant and man of letters, set his play Le Barbier d’Ingouville ou le Retour du Barbier de Séville there in 1776.

In the 19th century, the area was the setting of Modeste Mignon by Balzac, and writers Charles Nodier (1780-1844), Stendhal (1783-1842) and Gérard de Nerval (1808-1855) spoke very highly of it when telling their visit to Le Havre.