It is located on the right bank of the river Iori, on the Tbilisi — Telavi road, 4 km (2.48 mi) north of Ujarma village, near Gombori Pass through Tsiv-Gombori Range in the historical-geographical province Gare Kakheti.

According to Georgian chronicler Leonti Mroweli, the cornerstone of the Ujarma fortress was built by the King of Iberia, Aspacures I, in the 3rd to 4th centuries.

After Vakhtang V made Ujar one of his residences in the second half of the century, the fortress-town experienced a special rise.

A royal palace, consisting of a two-storey building, was located in the eastern part of the Citadel.

[2] The fortress-city was built on a high hill on the right bank of the river Iori and was the closing gate of the narrow exit of Ivory.

The walls of the church are built of large slabs of stone and partly of old piles of blocks.

The castle fence extended from the north side, down a steep rocky slope, to the river bank.