A castle may have been built on Castle Island as early as 1257, when King Alexander III of Scotland, then 16 years old, was forcibly brought there by his regents. During the First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328), the invading English army held the castle, then named Loch Leven Castle; it lies at a strategically important position between the towns of Edinburgh, Stirling and Perth. Part of the present fortification, the curtain wall, may date from this time period and may have been built by the occupying English. The castle was captured by the Scots before the end of the 13th century, possibly by the forces of William Wallace.