Bala Hissar , Peshawar Bala Hissar ( Pashto / Urdu / ) is one of the most historic places of Peshawar , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , Pakistan . The word Bala Hissar is from Dari Persian , meaning , “ elevated or high fort ” . The name was given by the Pashtun King Timur Shah Durrani ( 1773 – 1793 ) , who used the fort as the winter capital of the Afghan Durrani Empire , with the summer capital being in Kabul . The Sikh empire who conquered Peshawar in the early 19th century named it Samir Garh in 1834 but the name did not become popular . The Fort has been the headquarters of the Frontier Corps since 1949 . Design . The fort stands on a high mound in the northwestern corner of Peshawar City . Not long ago , the fort used to be conspicuously away from the old city of Peshawar , but now the construction of new buildings has covered space between the old city and the fort . However , the fort ' s position on a high mound gives a commanding and panoramic view of Peshawar and the entire Peshawar valley . On a clear day , one can see the mountains encircling Peshawar valley and beyond . The area covered by the inner wall of the fort is about and the outer wall is about . The height of the fort is about above ground level . History . Renowned historian Dr A . H . Dani in his book " Peshawar - Historic City of Frontier " writes that when Hiuen Tsang , a Chinese traveller , visited Peshawar in 630 AD , he spoke of a " royal residence " . He says that Chinese word " Kung Shing " used for its significance and is explained as fortified or walled portion of the town in which the royal palace stood . Hiuen Tsang then makes a separate mention of the city , which was not fortified . This shows that the royal residence formed the nucleus of a Citadel , which must have been further protected by a moat . Dr Dani further says that a channel of old Bara River surrounded by a high spot , which includes the Bala Hissar and Inder Shahr . The higher area could have been the citadel , which is the present Bala Hissar . Peshawar has always been a strategic city and its capturing and ruling over it was of great importance for the invaders and kings . " In the 11th century AD , the Hindu ruler , Raja Jaipal of the Hindushahi dynasty was defeated in the vicinity of Peshawar and Mehmud Ghaznavi garrisoned the fort with his army , " says Dr Taj Ali . The British officers who visited Peshawar in the 19th century mentioned that the fort used to be a royal residence of Afghan rulers , he added . The Bala Hissar has seen its construction and destruction by conquerors , warriors , invaders and kings on several occasions . After the overthrow of emperor Humayun by the Afghan King Sher Shah Suri , the Afghans destroyed the fort . When Hamyun was staying in it he decided to rebuild it before proceeding to Kabul . He wanted to use the fort for his conquest of India at a later stage . As his officers did not want to stay back , Hamayun himself supervised the rebuilding of the fort , which was soon completed . " The Afghan rulers named it " Bala Hissar " a Persian name meaning high fort while the Sikhs renamed and rebuilt it calling their fort " Sumergarh " in 1834 but the name did not become popular , says Dr Taj . The fort was constructed on a mound with commanding view of the surrounding area including Shalimar gardens presently known as Jinnah Park towards its north . This gave more prominence and grandeur to the fort , he said . Sumergarh . In the early nineteenth century , Peshawar was the summer capital of the Kingdom of Kabul and the Bala Hissar the residence of Afghan kings . The Sikhs fought and defeated the Kabul Barakzais in the Battle of Nowshera in early 1823 . On conclusion of this battle , fought on the right bank river Indus , the Sikhs chased the retreating Afghans past Peshawar through the Khyber Pass . The Sikhs followed this by the destruction of the Afghan Royal court and the Bala Hissar fort . In December 1823 , the British spy Moorcroft found the fort " a heap of rubbish , and the only use made of it by the rulers of Peshawar was as a quarry from whence to procure materials for dwellings of their own erection " . Archival records show that soon after the occupation of Peshawar by the Sikhs in 1834 , Hari Singh Nalwa commenced the reconstruction of the fort . The Sikhs called their fort ' Sumair Ghar ' ( after ' Sumer ' another name for Mount Kailash ) . The first Guru of the Sikhs , Guru Nanak Dev , had visited Mount Sumer in the course of his travels . Hari Singh Nalwa installed a plaque over the gate of the fort that read : " This Sumair Garh was built in the city of Peshawar by the exalted Maharaja Ranjit Singh Bahadur in Raja Bikramjit Sambat 1891 with the blessing of Almighty God " . Ranjit Singh was greatly pleased when he visited the newly constructed fort for the first time on 16 May 1835 . The British reconstructed the outer walls of the Bala Hissar after the annexation of the Kingdom of the Sikhs in 1849 . This Sikh fort continues to dominate the city of Peshawar in the twenty - first century .