The castle stands at a height of 208 metres above sea level (NN) on the site of an artificially created earth hillock around a rock spur on the Odenbach river.

The last Hohenfels of the older line sold the remainder of his estate due to poverty and "meagre sustenance" (notturfft lipplicher narung) and had to spend the rest of his life in a house belonging to the Neuenbaumburg near his relatives, the Raugrave of Bolanden.

In 1401, Nicholas Vogt of Hunolstein used the castle, which was part of the dower of his wife, Ida of Erbach, as a base during an armed confrontation with Duke Charles of Lorraine.

In accordance with a 1603 clause in the will by Countess Amalia, the mother of the last member of the Hohenfels family, the castle passed after her death in 1608 to her two brothers Emich and Sebastian, counts of Daun-Falkenstein.

However, these two passed away without any descendants entitled to inherit (living heirs), so the castle and the estate of Countess Amalia went to her two nephews, sons of her sister, Sidonia, the Swedish counts John-Casimir and Sten (Steino) of Löwenhaupt-Rasburg, cousins (great cousins) of the Swedish king, Gustavus II Adolphus of the House of Wasa.

In 1777/1778 the estate was managed by Count William Ernest Godfrey of Hillesheim and Princess Caroline of Isenburg, daughter of Palatine Elector, Charles Theodore in condominium.

On 30 November 1808, the castle grounds and its buildings were auctioned off to Karl Baumann, the Maire of Lauterecken, merchant Heinrich Puricelli and farmer Johann Bacher.

The Herrschaft eventually consisted of the following 15 villages:[3] Reipoltskirchen, Berzweiler, Dörnbach, Finkenbach, Gersweiler, Hefersweiler, Moorbach, Niederkirchen, Nußbach, Rathskirchen, Reichsthal, Rölsberg, Rudolphskirchen, Schönborn and Seelen.