It was a stabilizing network around the natural wormhole on both sides from what little we know, so not really a ‘jump gate’ as we normally think of them in-game
I believe the expectation was the wormhole would go away, and so the gates were built to ensure New Eden wasn’t cut off completely. Although the gates (at least the one on our end) went into uncontrolled meltdown, the wormhole ironically appears to still be open - just not necessarily (or continuously) to the same place on the other end.
This has to be one of the longest running expansion setups without an associated expansion in MMO history lol.
From what the lore says, any attempt to go in would be still be fatal. This isn’t a problem for capsuleers, who will just respawn in a station, but it’s a one-way trip into a brick wall, regardless.