It was commissioned by the local ruler Tahanpal (also called Tribhuvanpala or Tawanpal) of the Jadaun clan of Rajput, who probably reigned during 1093-1140, and whose family claimed descent from the legendary king Yadu.

His father Vijayapal had moved from Mathura to Mani Hills near Bayana after facing frequent invasions, including that of Mahmud of Ghazni.

[4] The fort remained an important military outpost and administrative centre of the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire.

Soon after the independence of India in 1947, illegal excavators - including former royal families - smuggled away many ancient idols from the site.

[6] Vinod Kumar Singh of Indian History Congress surveyed the fort in 1993 and 1998, noting several ruined structures and four Sanskrit-language inscriptions not recorded by Cunningham.

The remains of an ancient township with palaces, bazaars, houses and Temples can be seen inside the Fort Complex.