The shrine the Ni'matullāhī Gonabadi dervish order is located in Beydokht, a village in the Gonabad county.

[5] The famous ancient Battle of the Twelve Combats (Davazdah Rokh) between the rival empires of Iran and Turan (Central Asia) took place at Zibad Castle in this city - as memorably related in the epic Shahnameh.

The construction of this city is attributed to the Achaemenid kings and during the Seljuk Empire and Khwarazmian dynasty periods (fifth to seventh centuries AH) it was Shahrabadi.

The city of Gonabad is located on the plain and plateau of Siah Kooh or Ghahestan mountain range.

Built between 700 and 500 BCE by the Achaemenid Empire in what is now Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, the complex contains 427 water wells with a total length of 33,113 metres (20.575 mi).

According to unofficial statistics, about 30% of the city's population (equivalent to about 12,000 people) are indigenous and non-indigenous students.