Although the area has been inhabited for thousands of years, modern Kurnool was founded in the 16th century CE with the construction of the Konda Reddy Fort.

Also the Jurreru Valley, Katavani Kunta[14] and Yaganti in Kurnool District have some important rock art and paintings in the vicinity that may be dated from 35,000 to 40,000 years ago.

Both the major and minor edits are found at Erragudi (also called the Yerragudi or Jonnagiri site).

There are indications that Jain and Buddhist monks were occupying these caves centuries ago.

The Abyssinian, Abdul Wahab Khan, defeated King Gopal Raja of the Vijayanagar Kingdom in the 17th century and went on to rule the land for 16 years until his death.

[16] Ghulam Rasul Khan Bahadur (died on 12 July 1840) was the last Nawab of Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh.

Landmarks in and around the city include Konda Reddy Fort Formerly called Kondareddy Burj is the historical monument and major tourist attraction of Kurnool located at the northeast part of the city.

[25] Orvakal rock Garderns is the sculpture garden with an ancient cave lying on the southeast of the city.

The average annual rainfall is about 840 millimetres (33 in).Kurnool city gets good share of rains from pre-monsoon to monsoon seasons.

City locations is influenced by the orography effect of Nallamala hills on east.

[31] As per final data of the 2011 census, the Kurnool urban agglomeration had a population of 484,327, making it the fifth largest city in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

As per final data of 2011 census, Hindus formed the majority in the Kurnool urban agglomeration.

National highway 340C [ Kurnool-Dornala ] which connects to Srisailam, Vinukonda, Guntur, Vijayawada.

The city has a total road length of 519.22 km[39] State owned bus transport system, APSRTC, operates buses from Kurnool bus station to other parts of the state.

Kurnool Airport, officially known as Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy Airport, is located at Orvakal and is situated on the National Highway 40, about 18 km (11 mi) from Kurnool and 54 km (34 mi) from Nandyal.

The important minerals are iron ore, dolomite, limestone, ochre, quartz and silica.