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A memorial with a small plaque stands 150 m south-west outside of the fort, stating that Tipu Sultan was born here in 1751. It is about 6 ft tall with a pillared enclosure and square top and bears a stone tablet.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
There are numerous temples within the fort with impeccable architecture, of which the Venugopalaswamy Temple is the most visited and the oldest. The walls of the temple depict various scenes from Ramayana and the pillars have beautiful statues carved on them.
This fort was constructed by Mallabairegowda, a chieftain of the Vijayanagara Empire, in 1501. It remained in the hands of his descendants until 1749, when Nanjarajaiah, the then-Dalwai of Mysore, attacked the fort and occupied it. The fort than passed into the hands of Hyder Ali, who rebuilt it in stone in the late 18th century. In 1791, Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the fort and took possession during the Anglo-Mysore War. It is now in good repair and worth seeing.