The structure was initially a compound, containing a great vaulted mosque, adjoining prayer halls and libraries, a vast courtyard containing a huge reflecting pool, and a mausoleum—all surrounded by a containing wall.

During the reconstruction of the Arg compound, a foundry factory for the manufacturing of cannons for the Iranian Army was built as well as a military headquarters, a barrack for the troops, and a small palace.

In the process, much of the old Ilkhanid and Safavid remnants were also unwittingly destroyed, leaving behind only a tiny section of the back wall containing the Mihrab intact.

[2] In the early 1980s after the suppression of uprising of supporters of Muslim People's Republic Party against the new establishment of mixing religion and state and neglecting of Azerbaijani minorities, Moslem Malakuti selected Juma of Tabriz as the new Imam.

This action completely destroyed the ancient foundations of the original Arg that still existed underground and were going to be used for a reconstruction attempt at the end of the Pahlavi era.

Ironically, this was done in order to build a new mosque, which could have been built a few dozens of yards farther away from this primary Iranian Islamic archaeological site and spare its destruction.

It is visually clear that the new car park is created on nothing but the remains of the main prayer hall of the 700 year old grand mosque.