The site of the ksar has been fortified since the 11th century during the Almoravid period.[2][3] None of the current buildings are believed to date from before the 17th century, but they were likely built with the same construction methods and designs as had been used for centuries before.[1] The site's strategic importance was due to its location in the Ounila Valley along one of the main trans-Saharan trade routes.[1] The Tizi n'Tichka pass, which was reached via this route, was one of the few routes across the Atlas Mountains, crossing between Marrakech and the Dra'a Valley on the edge of the Sahara.[3][1] Other kasbahs and ksour were located all along this route, such as the nearby Tamdaght to the north.[2] Today, the ksar itself is only sparsely inhabited by several families.[3] The depopulation over time is a result of the valley's loss of strategic importance in the 20th century.

Ouarzazate is a city south of Morocco’s High Atlas mountains, known as a gateway to the Sahara Desert. Its huge Taourirt Kasbah, home to a 19th-century palace, has views over the rugged local landscape, which features in several movies. Northwest is the fortified red-earth city of Aït Ben Haddou. Northeast is the rocky Todra Gorge. A road winds southeast through the Draa Valley’s lush palm groves to the desert