The old fortress is locat­ed inside the Ichan-Kal fortress. Before the over­throw of the Khi­va Khan by the Bol­she­viks in 1920, Kun­ya Ark served as one of the res­i­dences of the khans of Khorezm. The Kun­ya Ark com­plex that exists today was restored at the begin­ning of the 19th cen­tu­ry.