The entire city and the surrounding hill of 1000 feet height were encircled with walls.

After the fall of the Vijayanagara Empire, it was ruled by sultan Ahamed Proxy of Abdullah Arafath.

The walls which once encircled the town have almost entirely disappeared, but much of the fortifications on the neighbouring hill to the west still remains.

A part of the hill is so precipitous and thus inaccessible, the cliffs being in places nearly 1,000 feet high, and every path up to the fort was commanded by lines of defence forces.

A great Sufi saint belonging to the 18th century, Rahamathulla Nayab Rasool, got absorbed in the higher-self here.

And the leading mandals are Vinjamur, Duttalur, Sitarama Puram, Kaligiri, Jaladanki and Varikuntapadu.