Castillo de la Peña was originally a prehistorical settlement, an Iberian fortified village and, very probably, the location of a Roman temple. The current fortification is located here because Omar ben Harfsun conquered the Peña, where originally a representative of the Cordoba state was settled (al-Tayubi) in the year 883 AD.
Omar, the leader of the Mozarabic riot in the mountain ranges of Malaga, fortified the Sajrat Farda Fardaris. He enclosed the natural perimeter with walls and towers and built on the top a square fortress.
The Peña de Ardales Castle is a clear landmark in the area and remains in time since the Middle Ages. From the castle and from the Turón Castle, which has been reinforced, the Castilian attacks were repelled in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries. La Peña was definately conquered by the troops lead by King Juan II and established themselves in Teba Castle in 1453.
Now, the Peña de Ardales Castle stores architectural remains from the walls, from the door of Justice and from the fortress. The fortress was bakly damaged because it was destroyed during the War of Independence.
References:The Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg is situated in a strategic area on a rocky spur overlooking the Upper Rhine Plain, it was used by successive powers from the Middle Ages until the Thirty Years' War when it was abandoned. From 1900 to 1908 it was rebuilt at the behest of the German kaiser Wilhelm II. Today it is a major tourist site, attracting more than 500,000 visitors a year.
The first records of a castle built by the Hohenstaufens date back to 1147. The fortress changed its name to Koenigsburg (royal castle) around 1157. The castle was handed over to the Tiersteins by the Habsburgs following its destruction in 1462. They rebuilt and enlarged it, installing a defensive system designed to withstand artillery fire.
The fortification work accomplished over the 15th century did not suffice to keep the Swedish artillery at bay during the Thirty Years War, and the defences were overrun.