In Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the human settlement ruled by the Master is Lake-town.
Lake-town, also called Esgaroth, is a settlement built on wooden platforms in Long Lake, south of the Lonely Mountain. It becomes an important location when Bilbo, Thorin, and the Dwarves reach it after escaping from the Elvenking’s halls.
The settlement is governed by the Master of Lake-town, a self-interested political leader played by Stephen Fry in Jackson’s film. Bard the Bowman, played by Luke Evans, is a boatman and descendant of the kings of Dale who becomes central to the community’s fate.
Lake-town is threatened when Smaug leaves the Lonely Mountain and attacks it. This sequence leads to one of the film’s major climaxes and sets up the political and military conflicts of The Battle of the Five Armies. Lake-town should not be confused with Dale, the ruined city nearby.