File:0010722 11th century Ratanpur Ancient Fort Chattisgarh 006.jpg

English: Ratanpur is an ancient town which finds multiple mentions in the two Hindu epics – the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. According to legends, this is where Rama's mother was born, as well as a few important events in Mahabharata unfolded. Various manuscripts mention the Ratanpur-led kingdom once had Atharagadas or 18 garhs (forts). It is these 18 garhs of Ratanpur and 18 garhs of Raipur totaling to 36 (chhattis) that the state gets its historic name – Chhattisgarh.

Other than traces of many ancient mud forts, little is left of the ancient forts. In 11th century, the Hindu Haihaya king Ratan Dev moved his capital to the fort of Ratanpur for its terrain and strategic location. He rebuilt the fort with stone walls and decorated the walls and gates with Hindu iconography such as Ganesha, Lakshmi, Vedic deities and scenes from Ramayana and Mahabharata. In addition, he built water reservoirs both to meet the needs of his army and also to frustrate any attacks. The fort had four main gates and minor gates. It was largely self sufficient, protected by water bodies, forests and hilly terrain nearby

Ratanpur fort became one of the targets for raids and conquest during the Sultanate era, and later fell to the Mughal army. Many parts of the fort were torn down and a few buildings with Islamic architecture were thereafter added. The extant Ratanpur fort is an eclectic mix of 11th century monuments, additions between the 14th to 18th centuries, and restoration efforts that have reused some of the recovered ruins. It is one of the national heritage monuments of India, protected and maintained by ASI.