Place · hill fort town · India
Vinukonda
Also known as Vinukonda
The historic hill town of Vinukonda in Palnadu district, Andhra Pradesh, 85 kilometres from Guntur. The town is named for the 7-century Vishnu temple (Vinu-konda, 'Vishnu's hill') on the central hill, with foundation legends tying it to the Pandavas' exile. The medieval Vinukonda Fort was held by the Reddy dynasty (1325-1448), Vijayanagara (1448-1565) and the Qutb Shahi (1565-1687) before British absorption. The town is central to the 12-century Palnadu war narrative preserved in Srinatha's Palnati Veera Charitra (one of the foundational Telugu epic poems). The Chennakesava Swamy temple (rebuilt 1600) and the Narasimha Swamy hilltop temple remain active pilgrimages.
- Function
- Authority & administration
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 16.053, 79.745
Connections (2)
- Companion in the same setMacherla
Vinukonda and Macherla together frame the Palnadu plateau on the right bank of the Krishna river. Both towns are central to the 12-century Palnati Yuddham narrative (the Palnadu civil war between Nalagama and Malideva recorded in Srinatha's Palnati Veera Charitra Telugu epic). The Vinukonda hilltop fort and the Macherla Chennakesava temple together anchor the medieval Palnadu political-religious geography. The 2022 Palnadu district formation unified these towns administratively.
- Site adjacencyNarasaraopet
Narasaraopet and Vinukonda sit 50 kilometres apart in the Palnadu district of Andhra Pradesh. Narasaraopet (founded 1830s) was the Madras Presidency-era commercial centre of the Guntur-Palnadu cotton belt, while Vinukonda is the historic Palnadu military capital. The 2022 Palnadu district formation grouped both towns under a single administrative unit, with Narasaraopet as the commercial hub and Vinukonda as the heritage-tourism anchor.
Sources
Standard reference; district gazetteer and Wikipedia.
Open Vinukonda in the repository →