 During the 9th century, Bankapura was named after "Bankeyarasa" (in 898 CE) who was a feudatory of Rashtrakoota king Amoghavarsha I.In the 11th century the Kadambas took over, followed by the Hoysalas king "Vishnuvardhana".In the 16th century, the Bahamanis attacked Bankapur and Mustapha Khan of Bijapur annexed the fortress after 
a pitched battle for more than a year.