 The  state was centered upon the Taqali Massif, the highest part of the hills in the northeast of the region , but its early history is unclear.
<meaning-changed>  The  state was centered upon the Taqali Massif, the highest part of the hills in the northeast of the region , but its early history is unclear.
 The state was centered upon the Taqali Massif, the highest part of the Nuba Hills in the Kordofan region (of what is now central Sudan). Its early history is unclear.