Out from the north the castle and the city was protected by the Rudka river harboring a boggy holm, while on the southern side would be Bavorovsky pond which vanished in a later time.

A narrow, dry strip of land factually being a moat banked by a mound with inside masonry reinforced with an oak stockade would set the castle ground apart.

The first record in Ternopil's annals entered on April 15, 1540 was related to the king's ascent given to Kraków nobleman Jan Tarnowski regarding constructing the castle over the Seret river.

Sizable expense was credited towards enlargement and improvement by Tomasz Zamoyski, who received the city as his wife's dowry, daughter of renowned Ruthenian maecenas and statesman, Konstanty Ostrogski.

Count Korytowski revived it in the 1840s as his summer residence; he also had its towers, walls and other fortifications dismantled.In the course of its history Ternopil Castle was a subject of frequent attacks and destruction.

Owing to the town home guard spearheaded by Bernard Pretwicz, Jan Gerburt, and Prokyp Sieniawski, the horde was held back until a force of knights arrived from the vicinity of Sandomierz.

Knowledge about the castle, town, and the vicinity became available from the journal of German explorer and traveler, Ulrich von Werdum, who used to traverse the countryside near Ternopil between July 1671 and January 1672.

At the beginning of the 19th century, Count Korytowski rebuilt the structure into a palace having demolished defense bulwarks, towers, and gates while raising masonry walls instead.

In 1843 the last owner of Ternopil City, Turkul, sold the castle to the town community that in turn was transferred to the Austrian army having utilized it for barracks.