In the old years, at the southern end of Saraçhane Bridge (in the area called Tunca Barracks or Sirkmeydanı) there was Saraçhane Police Station and this fountain was next to the police station. Dertli Mustafa is the person who had the fountain repaired, not the one who built it. Although the date of its construction is unknown, its repair is dated 1906. It is also mentioned in the sources that Dertli Mustafa attached great importance to charity works such as fountains in Edirne.
Dertli Mustafa Efendi lived between 1851-1930 and his real name was Süleyman Cemil. He had a reputation as a rich landowner and was one of the first owners of the Zorlutuna Mansion. His son Mehmet Nuri was kidnapped and killed by Bulgarians in 1913 and after this incident, he was nicknamed Dertli Mustafa in relation to his sorrow over the incident.