The planned location of the Munich gardens was the area north of the Schwabinger city gate, a hunting ground of the Wittelsbach rulers since the Middle Ages. Known as the "Hirschanger" (or "deer park"), the higher part of the hunting ground closer to the city was included in the scheme, while the "Hirschau" (also meaning "deer park"), lower and further north, and a more densely wooded part to the south known as the "Hirschangerwald" ("Deer Park Wood") were originally not included. The whole area had been subject to flooding from the Isar, the river on which Munich stands, a little to the east. This problem was soon removed by the construction of a river wall in 1790, which became known as the "Riedl-Damm" after the engineer Anton von Riedl, who had supervised its construction.