It was built in 1254 by French crusaders on the site of an earlier Fatimid fortress, and was altered a number of times until the 17th century.

[2] The site became a fortress in the 10th century, when Fatimid Caliph Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah fortified it and gave it the name Qalaat al Muizz.

This artificial mound (100 m long and 50 m high) was formed by the accumulation of refuse from the purple dye factories of Phoenician times.

Mosaic tiling at the top of the mound suggests that Roman buildings were erected there when the area was no longer used as the city's dumping ground.

Part of the hill today is covered by the cemetery of the Shia Muslim community of Sidon.