The fortress was meant to guard the southern access to Grădiştea de Munte -Sarmizegetusa Regia. The dominant position of the chosen place, an almost cone-shaped cliff called Piatra Cetăţii or Dealul Bolii (“The Fortress Rock” or “Bolia’s Hill”), insured a very good visibility on the nearby valleys. The southern, eastern and western slopes are particularly abrupt, thus the Dacian fortification elements were constructed only on the northern slope.
The civil settlement was placed at the foot of the hill, but it was destroyed in a large proportion by the construction works from the XIXth century.