The timber that was cut in the higher regions of the Shivalik range was thrown into the River Satluj and then collected at Phillaur for further transportation.

The older route of the actual G. T. Road still survives along the railway bridge that connects the city to Ludhiana.

During the reign of Sher Shah Suri (1540-1545 A. D.), a Sarai (for trading and military purpose) was raised at Phillaur.

The Sarai was again revived by the Mughal Emperor Shahjahan (1627-1657 A. D.) and used as a Postal Center (Dak ghar) and Military camp.

It was managed by Raja Dhanpat Rai who also acted as Ranjit Singh's munshi for the lands across the River Satluj which were part of Ludhiana (made a military cantonment by the British in 1842).

It is also the birthplace of the famous Pakistani poet Sher Muhammad Khan, better known by his pen name, Ibn-e-Insha.

The popular Hindu hymn Jai Jagdish Hare was composed by a local scholar Shardha Ram Phillauri in Phillaur some time in the 1870s.