One man has been taken into custody following what police have described as a "family harm" incident that resulted in eight blocks of central Invercargill being cordoned off for several hours last night.

Detective Senior Sergeant Stu Harvey said the incident was resolved around 12.30am today. The roads were reopened a short time later.

Officers had been called to a Dee Street property about 7.15pm. Armed police manned the cordons and the armed offenders' squad attended "as a precaution".

Mr Harvey said the female reportedly involved had walked out of the property around 9.30pm, safe and uninjured.

During the incident, a man claiming to be the person at the centre of the police attention wrote on social media that he was innocent and was refusing to come out because he had done nothing wrong.

Earlier in the evening many people in the area reported hearing loud bangs similar to gunshots but Mr Harvey confirmed this morning that no shots were fired at any time.