Naryn-Kala occupies a hill above Derbent on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in Dagestan. The citadel anchors a defensive system built where the Caucasus Mountains approach the coast, leaving a narrow corridor between mountain and sea.
The principal stone fortifications date to the sixth century under the Sasanian Persian Empire. Two parallel walls extended from the citadel toward the Caspian, enclosing medieval Derbent and controlling movement along the coast. A mountain wall continued westward to block alternative routes.