It rises on the right bank of the Nišava River, overlooking the area inhabited for longer than two millennia.

The current condition of the fortress lists it as one of the best preserved fortifications of this kind in Serbia as well as on the Balkan Peninsula.

The Fortress was erected on the site of earlier fortifications – the ancient Roman, Byzantine, and later yet Medieval forts.

[citation needed] The Fortress has a polygonal ground plan, eight bastion terraces and four massive gates.

With a complete reconstruction of all the gates, Niš Fortress would once again become, architecturally and functionally, a closed fortification system.