The name agnaou is believed to be of Berber origin and had multiple historically reported meanings including "mutes" and, later on, "Black people" (or the Gnawa); however, it's unclear what exact connotation the name had in this case.

[2]: 229–230 It is located just inside the walls of the main city (medina), near Bab er-Robb, at the northwestern corner of the Kasbah.

[7][2] The gate was nonetheless originally flanked by two bastion towers crowned with merlons and the passage inside was a bent entrance (meaning it turned 90 degrees before exiting) passing through a large vaulted vestibule.

[3] The flanking towers and the covered vestibule, however, have since disappeared, and the archway of the gate has been partly filled-in with a smaller and simpler brick arch.

The reduction of the archway likely dates from the time of the Alaouite sultan Sidi Muhammad ibn Abdallah, who carried out numerous works in the area of the Kasbah.