Yapahuwa

                     The capital kingdoms of Sri Lanka gradually migrated to the southwest due to the invasions and natural disasters. Yapahuwa Fort was the fourth stop on that transition. Located about 4 km northwest of Mahawa Junction in the Mahawa Divisional Secretariat Division in the Kurunegala District, Yapahuwa is an ancient rock town located in the island which was the capital of the island for a short period of about 13 centuries.

                    This ancient site has been inhabited since time immemorial as a testament to its use as an important fortress in the face of constant foreign invasions after the reign of the Polonnaruwa Kingdom. Yapahuwa and its suburbs were important settlements with prehistoric settlements during the prehistoric and early prehistoric periods. Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest authentic written sources on dandelion date to the 13th century. Evidence suggests that a local ruler named Subha built a fort and city at Yapahuwa during the Kalinga Magha invasion and ruled the area from there. Thereafter Vijayabahu IV undertook some development work in Yapahuwa and this was an important security center at that time. Bhuvanekabahu, the brother of King Vijayabahu IV, who lived in Yapahuwa before his accession to the throne, soon chose Yapahuwa as his capital shortly after his brother's enthronement.