The Institute of Art History of the University of Gdańsk has been publishing the annual journal of Porta Aurea since 1992. Volumes 1 to 4 and Volume published by Teresa Grzybowska appeared in 1992-1999. Volume 5 of the journal, however, was never released. 

In 2009, Andrzej Woziński served as the academic editor of the journal. Since 2010 the tasks of Porta Aurea's academic editing have been performed by Małgorzata Omilanowska.

The journal is created for readers interested in the history of art and architecture and is thematically focused on the artistic issues of the Baltic Sea Region. This profiling is not exclusive, however, articles devoted to the art of Gdansk or, more broadly the Tricity, Pomerania, Northern Germany, the Baltic States, and Scandinavia constitute the main core of each volume.

The texts are generally published in Polish accompanied by abstracts in English, but German and English articles are also included in the publication. All the texts that are submitted for publication andergo the reviewing process (basic principles are provided). For a detailed explanation of the editorial policy on ethical issues, see the Section on ghost-writing and guest authorship.

Since 2013, Porta Aurea has been on the approved journal List C of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education, which is also included in the European Reference Index for the Humanities (ERIH) database. The journal's current score in the Ministry's register is 40 points.

Archival issues of the annual Porta Aurea have been digitized and are available at Heidelberger Historische Bestände - digital. 

Since 2018 Porta Aurea has been made available on the journal platform of the University of Gdansk immediately upon its publication.