[1] The word Bālā Hissār (بالا حصار) is from Dari Persian, meaning "elevated or high fort."
Samīr was another name for Mount Kailash, a high peak in Tibet considered sacred in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism; Gaṛh means "fortress" in Hindustani.
According to historian Ahmad Hasan Dani, a Chinese Buddhist monk and traveller Xuanzang, when visiting Peshawar in 630 AD, found a "royal residence" and called it with Chinese word Kung Shing, which is used for its significance and is explained as fortified or walled portion of the town in which the royal palace stood.
Dani further says that a channel of old Bara River surrounded by a high spot, which includes the Bala Hissar and Inder Shahr.
[5] The victory in this battle is considered a great success for Marathas as now their rule had extended to the border of Afghanistan, located 2000 km far from their capital Pune.
[11] After the First Anglo-Sikh War in 1845-46, the British East India Company reconstructed the outer walls of Bala Hissar in 1849.
The provincial government has expressed desire the control of the fort from the Frontier Corps in order to open it to tourists.