The name of this castle comes from the Arab word Yabal (Hill) and another derived from the Greek Faruh (Lighthouse), which suggests the possible use of the hill during the Phoenician-Punic period as a coast lookout point.The name Gibralfaro is frequently found in Arab sources linked to a Muslim hermitage or oratory built on the summit and with a large cemetery extended over the slopes.The references to the fortifications as such are later, as these were built in times of Yusuf I (14th century). In this period, the consideration of the need to build a fortress to protect the Alcazaba was probably due to the generalisation of the use of artillery and the fact that the Alcazaba had no defence if attacked from the slopes it stood on.