Inside the citadel there are baths, a fortress water supply system made of ceramic pipes, the ruins of the Shah's palace, a large entrance portal and part of the walls.

[7] Derbent is located in the most strategically vulnerable place of the Caspian Pass, where the Greater Caucasus Mountains are closest to the sea, leaving a single narrow 3 km strip of plain.

[2] From the west, the Derbent walls adjoin the Naryn-Kala citadel, which was built after the 10th century, since before that a signal fire was kindled at this place when the enemy approached.

[6] The fortress known today was built in the 6th century on the Dzhalgan ridge[3] by order of the Persian ruler Khosrov I Anushirvan (531-579) ("Immortal in Soul") from the Sasanian dynasty.

From the dugout, which is now a local landmark, Emperor Peter the Great moved to the Khan's palace, to whom the beys of Derbent presented the city keys on a silver platter covered with Persian brocade (stored in the Kunstkamera of Saint Petersburg) with words.

[11] During the Persian expedition of 1796, the fortress was retaken by Russian troops under the leadership of General-in-chief Valerian Zubov, who placed the general headquarters in the citadel.