Dindigul Fort The Dindigul Fort or Dindigul Malai Kottai is a 17th - century hill fort , built by Madurai Nayak situated in the town of Dindigul in the state of Tamil Nadu in India . The fort was built by the Madurai Nayak king Muthu Krishnappa Nayak in 1605 . In 18th century the fort passed on to Kingdom of Mysore ( Mysore Wodeyars . During the reign of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan the fort was of strategic importance . In 1799 it went to the control of the British East India Company during the Polygar Wars . There is an abandoned temple on its peak apart from few cannons . In modern times , the fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and is open to tourists . Etymology . Dindigul city derives its name from a portmanteau of " Thindu " meaning pillow and " kal " meaning rock and referring to the rock . Appar , the Saiva poet visited the city and noted it in his works in " Tevaram " . Dindigul finds mention in the book " Padmagiri Nadhar Thenral Vidu thudhu " written by the poet Palupatai sokkanathar as Padmagiri . This was later stated by U . V . Swaminatha Iyer ( 1855 - 1942 ) in his foreword to the above book . He also mentions that Dindigul was originally called Dindeecharam . History . The history of Dindigul is centered around the fort over the small rock hill and fort . Dindigul region was the border of the three prominent kingdoms of South India , the Pandyas , Cheras and Cholas . The Chera king Dharmabalan is believed to have built the temples of Abirami and Padmagirinathar . The ancient Tamil book , " Silappathikaram " records the city as the northern border of the Pandya kingdom whose capital was Madurai . Historian Strabo mentions about the city in his 20 A . D . work and Pillni , the great historian of the time described about the Pandya king in his works . During the first century A . D . , the Chola king Karikal Cholan captured the Pandya kingdom and Dindigul came under the Chola rule . During the sixth century , the Pallavas took over most provinces of Southern India . Dindugul was under the rule of Pallavas until Cholas regained the state in the 9th century and the Pandyas regained control by 13th century . In the 14th century , South India was under the raids of Malik Kafur . Dindigul was safe in the hands of VijayaNagara before Cheras take over the Pandya kingdom . Chandrakumara Pandyan won the war against cheras with the assistance provided the Vijaya Nagar Kingdom . The commander of the Vijaya Nagar army Kampanna Udayar played an important role in the war . In 1559 Nayaks became powerful and their territory bordered with Dindigul in the north . After the death of king Viswanatha Nayak in 1563 , Muthukrisna Nayakka became the king of kingdom in 1602 A . D who built the strong hill fort in 1605 A . D . He also built a fort at the bottom of the hill . Muthuveerappa Nayak and Thirumalai Nayak followed Muthukrishna Nayak . Dindigul came to prominence once again during Nayaks rule of Madurai under Thirumalai Nayak . After his immediate unsuccessful successors , Rani Mangammal became the ruler of the region who ruled efficiently . In 1736 Chanda Sahib , the lieutenant of Arcot Nawab Seized power from Vangaru Nayak , with the help of British . In 1742 , the Mysore army under the leadership of Venkatarayer conquered Dindigul . He governed Dindigul as a representative of Maharaja of Mysore . There were Eighteen Palayams ( a small region consists of few villages ) during his reign and all these palayams were under Dindigul Semai with Dindiguls capital . These palayams wanted to be independent and refused to pay taxes to venkatarayer . In 1748 , Venkatappa was made governor of the region in place of Venkatarayer , who also failed . In 1755 , Mysore Maharaja sent Haider Ali to Dindigul to handle the situation . Later Haider Ali became the Maharaja of Mysore and in 1777 , he appointed Purshana Mirsaheb as governor of Dindigul . He strengthened the fort . His wife Ameer - um - Nisha - Begam died during her delivery and her tomb is now called Begambur . In 1783 British army , lead by captain long invaded Dindigul . In 1784 , after an agreement between the Mysore province and British army , Dindigul was restored by Mysore province . In 1788 , Tipu Sultan , the Son of Haider Ali , was crowned as King of Dindigul . In 1790 , James Stewart of the British army gained control over Dindigul by invading it in the second war of Mysore . In a pact made on 1792 , Tipu ceded Dindigul along with the fort to the English . Dindigul is the first region to come under English rule in the Madurai District . In 1798 , the British army strengthened the hill fort with cannons and built sentinal rooms in every corner . The British army , under statten stayed at Dindigul fort from 1798 to 1859 . After that Madurai was made head quarters of the British army and Dindigul was attached to it as a taluk . Dindigul was under the rule of the British Until India got our Independence on 15 August 1947 . The fort played a major role during the Polygar wars , between the Palayakarars , Tipu Sultan duo aided by the French against the British , during the last decades of 18th century . The polygar of Virupachi , Gopal Nayak commanded the Dindugal division of Polygars , and during the wars aided the Sivaganga queen Queen Velu Nachiyar and her commanders Maruthu Pandiyar Brothers to stay the fort after permission from Hyder Ali . Architecture . The rock fort is tall and has a circumference of . Cannon and gunfire artillery were included in the fort during the 17th century . The fort was cemented with double walls to withstand heavy artillery . Cannons were installed at vantage points around the fort with an arms and ammunition godown built with safety measures . The double - walled room was fully protected against external threat and was well ventilated . A thin brick wall in one corner of the godown helped soldiers escape in case of emergency . The sloping ceiling of the godown prevented seepage of rainwater . The fort has 48 rooms that were once used as cells to lodge war prisoners and slaves , a spacious kitchen , a horse stable and a meeting hall for the army commanders . The fort also has its own rainwater reservoirs constructed by taking advantage of the steep gradient . The construction highlights the ingenuity of Indian kings in their military architecture . Culture . The fort is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India and maintains it as a protected monument . An entry fee of 5 is charged for Indian citizens and ( 100 for foreigners . The fort receives few visitors in college and school students and the occasional foreign tourists . Visitors are allowed to walk around the tunnels and trenches that reveals the safety features of the structure . The temple has some sculptures and carvings , with untarnished rock cuts . Visitors can view the ruins within the fort walls , arsenal depots , or animal stables ) and damaged halls decorated with carved stone columns . Visitors are allowed to go up to the cannon point and look through the spy holes imagining the sound , light and speed of the fireballs . The top of the fort also offers a breathtaking view of Dindigul on the eastern side and villages and farmland on the other sides . Lack of funds and facilities has kept the fort misused by nearby dwellers . But in 2005 , Keeranur - based ASI in Pudukkottai district fenced the entire surroundings and refurbished some of the dilapidated structures .