It was named after an obscure saint, who is traditionally held to have fled to Cyprus after the Arab conquest of the Holy Land and retired to the hilltop on which the castle was built for hermitage.

Saint Hilarion, together with the castles of Buffavento and Kantara, formed the defense of the island against Arab raids against the coast.

During the rule of the Lusignans, the castle was the focus of a four-year struggle between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Regent John of Ibelin (c. 1179–1236) for control over Cyprus.

Although mostly ruined today, this was a structure in the northeast-southwest axis, with a length of 25 m and width of 6 m. It has a basement containing a cistern and two floors.

[5] Two of the main characters in the 1958 historical novel, Exodus, by Leon Uris, spend a day walking around the castle ruins.

The Castle of Saint Hilarion appears in the 2009 action-adventure video game Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines, the 2015 novel "The Lost Treasure of the Templars" by James Becker, and Death in Cyprus by M. M. Kaye.