Yanardag functions as a historical, cultural and natural reserve.
Three of the reserves are located on the territory of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Icherisheher, Gobustan and Yuxari Bash nature reserves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Ateshgah, Ordubad and Shusha are on the list of candidates.
According to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan "On approval of the Model Regulations on Memorial Reserves", the reserve is a state-protected territory and settlements where historical and cultural monuments, archaeological and architectural objects, ethnographic, numismatic, epigraphic, anthropological materials, buildings, memorials, objects related to historical events and personalities are located.
Archaeological, ethnographic, architectural, urban planning and other complexes of special importance have been declared nature reserves by the order of the President of Azerbaijan.