Devanahalli Fort Devanahalli Fort is located north of Bangalore city , at Devanahalli in the State of Karnataka , India . It was originally built in 1501 by Mallabairegowda , which remained in the hands of his descendants until the mid – eighteenth century . In 1749 , the then Dalwai of Mysore , Nanjarajaiah , attacked the fort and occupied it . Later , the fort passed into the hands of Hyder Ali and subsequently Tipu Sultan . In 1791 , Lord Cornwallis laid siege to the fort and took possession during the Anglo - Mysore War . The birthplace of Tipu Sultan , also known as " Tiger of Mysore " , is located near to the fort . The fort is situated on the side of National Highway 7 , near the Bengaluru International Airport . An Archeological Survey of India ( ASI ) board outside the fort and at Tipu Sultan ' s birthplace declares them to be protected monuments . History . The history of Devanahalli dates back to 15th century , when a family of fleeing refugees from Conjeevaram ( modern day Kanchi ) , camped near the foot of Ramaswami betta , east of Nandi Hills . Their leader Rana Baire Gowda was apparently directed in a dream to set up a settlement in this region . He and his " Morasu Wokkalu " family settled in a small village , Ahuti , which was later known as Avati . His son Malla Baire Gowda founded Devanahalli , Chikka - ballapura and Dodda - ballapura . Kempegowda , the founder of Bangalore city is also from " Morasu Wokkalu " family . Devanahalli was part of Gangawadi and later came under the rule of Rashatrakutas , Nolamba , Pallavas , Cholas , Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara rulers . During the time of Vijayanagra rule , Malla Baire constructed the initial mud fort in 1501 AD with the consent of Devaraya at Devanadoddi , the previous name of Devanahalli . In 1747 AD , the fort passed into the hands of the Wodeyar s of Mysore under the command of Nanja Raja . It was conquered many times from the Marathas and later came under the control of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan . Tipu also renamed it as Yousafabad ( the abode of Yousuf , the finest man ) which never got popular . The fort finally fell into the British , under Lord Cornwallis in 1791 , during the Mysore War . Architecture . The present fort was built of stone by Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan , is spread over an area of 20 acres ( 8 ha ) . The roughly oval east oriented fortification veneered with dressed masonry has as many as 12 semi - circular bastions at regular intervals . A spacious battlement is provided towards the inner side of the fortification . The fort has entrances decorated with cut plasterwork at the east and west . The entrances are quite small , comfortable enough for the horses of yore . The bastions are provided with gun points built with lime and brick . The house in which Tipu and Hyder Ali lived also exists till date . The house of Dewan Purnaiah , a high - ranking official in Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan ’ s court , is also located inside the fort . Tipu ' s birthplace . A memorial with a small plaque stands south - west outside of the fort , stating that Tipu Sultan was born here in 1751 . It is about six feet ( 2 m ) tall with a pillared enclosure and square top and bears a stone tablet . The area around the enclosure is known as " Khas Bagh " and has a dried up stone pond , banana , tamarind and mango plantations . Temples inside the fort . The small town inside the strong walls of Devanahalli fort has many temples . The Venugopalaswamy temple , which faces the main town road is one of the oldest among them . The courtyard , with a " Garuda Stamba " , is spacious and the walls of the temple depict various scenes from Ramayana and the feats of Lord Krishna as a child , and the pillars have beautiful statues carved on them . The sculptures in this temple is said to be comparable to the temples of Belur and Halebid . On the pillars of the main entrance stand two horsemen with swords unsheathed . The Garbhagriha has a standing Venugopala image of Vijayanagara style . There is a Dravidian style Sikhara over the temple . The Navaranga has four black - stoned pillars carved with fine relief sculptures on all sides , such as " hayagriva , " dancing female figures with attendant musicians , a conch blower , a kinnara with the lower portion of his body in bird form , a huntress removing a thorn from her leg , etc . A " teru " is the big chariot used to parade the idol of Gopalaswamy around the town once a year . A few yards away from the Venugopalaswamy temple is Siddalingeshwara temple . Next to this temple is a " Raghavendraswamy Math " . Across the street is the another age old temple , Chandramouleshwara Temple . It has a spacious inner " prakara " is built in Vijayanagara style . The Garbhagriha has a " shivalinga " , and there are two cells on either sides with images of Ganapati and Parvati enshrined respectively . On the left of the main road stands another temple dedicated to Anjaneya known as Sarovaranjaneya temple . The Nanjundeshwara temple is a small building with two cells in a line and a common " navaranga " . It is said that this was earlier called Kashi Vishveshwara and is regarded as the oldest temple in the town .