The lowest floor contains several storage rooms, a number of which were built 20 meters deep into the ground.

The middle area of al-Rusafa is marked by the extensive presence of vaulted rooms.

Although ruined, the central towers "are still high" according to Peter Willey,[1] an authority on Ismaili castles.

[4] Al-Rusafa was taken over by the Nizari Ismailis around 1140 CE along with other fortresses in the vicinity, namely Masyaf, Khawabi, al-Maniqa and Qulay'a.

[7] In the mid-1960s, al-Rusafa was a small village that contained an old khan (caravanserai) in addition to its partially ruined fortress.