While in Gujarati and Marwari language, the stepwell is called a vav (leading down to the level of water), in other Hindi-speaking regions of North India, it is known as a baoli (also spelt, 'bawdi', 'bawri' and 'bavadi').

[1] Stepwells like the one in Adalaj were once integral to the semi-arid regions of Gujarat, as they provided water for drinking, washing, and bathing.

Stepwells are also found in more arid regions of the Indian subcontinent, extending into Pakistan to collect rainwater during seasonal monsoons.

While many such structures are utilitarian in construction, they sometimes include significant architectural embellishments, as in the Adalaj stepwell, which attracts many tourists.

[2][4][8] Between third and second millennium BC, at the "Great Bath", at the site of Mohenjodaro of the Harappan civilization, filling of water was achieved from a large well located in one of the rooms in front of the open courtyard of the building–complex.

It is also inferred that the Stepwells in Gujarat have survived so long because of the builder's knowledge of the soil conditions and the earthquake proneness of the region.

An inscription in Sanskrit establishes the history of the Adalaj stepwell found on a marble slab positioned in a recess on the first floor, from the eastern entry to the well.

"Then follows a glowing description of the well, after which the queen, or rather lady of the chief, is praised in a few verses; the expense is stated at 5,00,111 tankas or over five lakhs, and the whole ends with a repetition of the date as given above.

[16] The inscription on the stepwell reads:[17] "On the fifth day of the month of Māgha in the Saṁvat year 1555 the king Pādasāha Śrī Mahimūda.

In whose family was Mokalasiṁha the sovereign king of Daṇḍāhideśa, a Vāghela, equal to Indra in power, who protected the assembly of Bhāgavatas; ...

While the year 1555 of the era of the king Vikrama and 1420 of the Śaka was current, in the Āṣāḍha month and Śiśara season of the Uttarāyana, on Wednesday the fifth of the light fortnight of Māgha in the nakṣatra of Uttarābhādrapadā in the Yoga called Siddhi and in the Karaṇa named Bava, the moon being in the Mīnarāśī (Pisces), in the victorious reign of Pātasāha Śrī Mahamūda, the queen Rūḍābāī, the faithful wife of Virasiṁha – Mahīpa's son, the lord of the country of Daṇḍāhi, a Vāghela, the crest-gem of all kings – made a well at Aḍālij for the benefit of all.

[4] As per legend, in the 15th century, Rana Veer Singh of the Vaghela dynasty, a Hindu ruler, reigned over this territory known as Dandai Desh.

Rana Veer Singh's widow, a beautiful lady, known as Rani Roopba (or Roodabai), wanted to commit suicide and join her husband in the afterlife.

The Muslim king, who was deeply enamored of the queen's beauty, agreed to the proposal and built the well in record time.

Instead, the queen who had achieved her objective of completing the stepwell started by her husband decided to end her life.

Four small rooms with oriel windows decorated with minutely carved brackets are provided at the landing level, at the four corners.

Above the square floor, columns, beams, walls, and arched openings spiral around, a feature that continues to the top.