The fort's location enabled it to oversee key passages through the valley and control the ancient pathways circumventing the coastal Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory, a significant geological formation along the Lebanese coast that historically posed challenges to travelers.

The existing fort, a product of traditional sandstone masonry, consists of two main sections, fortified walls up to two meters thick, a triangular courtyard, and defensive arrowslits, with adaptive design suited to the surrounding terrain.

The Mseilha Fort is conflated in some sources with the Puy du Connétable, a medieval Crusader estate and fortification that defended the nearby Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory.

The Mseilha Fort stands on the right bank of Al-Jaouz river, to the south-east of Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory; a massive geological formation that cuts through the coast of Lebanon, making it historically difficult for travelers to circumvent.

[12] Following the collapse of the Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory in the aftermath of the 551 CE earthquake,[13] the coastal road linking the cities of Batroun, El-Heri and Tripoli was lost, transforming the northern shoreline into a high sea cliff.

Crossing the Nahr el-Jaouz valley, this road turns around Ras ash-Shaq'a promontory to reach the other side at a spot near El-Heri called Bab el-Hawa (meaning the "door of the wind").

[17] In a 1109 document, Bertrand, Count of Saint-Gilles, gifted the Church of St. Lawrence of Genoa full control over the Castle of the Constabulary (Latin: Castrum Constabularii) Gibellum (modern Jbeil), and one-third of Tripoli's territory.

[17] Around 1276, the vicinity of the Puy du Connétable was the site of a battle during the war between Guy II Embriaco of Gibelet and the Knights Templar against Bohemond VII, Count of Tripoli.

The construction techniques, cutting methods, stone block sizes, and low arched doors and windows, among other elements, suggest that the current structure was built in the 17th century at the earliest.

[11][3] Deschamps further posits, that the tower described by Albert of Aix during the march of the First Crusade in 1099 may have been located on the Mseilha rock, a theory echoed by French historians René Grousset and Jean Richard.

According to scholars Davie and Salamé-Sarkis, this tower may have been situated at the summit of Jabal an-Nuriyya, a strategic position on the northern tip of the Ras al Shaq'a promontory, that enabled monitoring of both the mountain pass and the bay of Heri.

[3] Nineteenth century Lebanese scholar Father Mansur Tannus al-Hattuni, recounting events of 1624, noted that Emir Fakhr al-Din II "ordered Sheikh Abu Nadir al-Khazin to construct the Mseilha Fort north of Batroun".

[e][4] Max Van Berchem and the Swiss architect Edmond Fatio, conducted the first comprehensive archaeological study of the site and documented their observations in their 1914 publication, Voyage en Syrie.

The entrance opens into a narrow, triangular courtyard bordered by a two-bay vaulted building on the southern side, possibly used for storage, with as a cistern in its lower level.