The Kira Fortress, a fortress situated in the wilds of Onderon, belonged to the esteemed House of Kira. Its location was quite remote from Iziz, approximately one hundred kilometers away from the Shatoon Monastery.
Within the Onderon jungles, the House of Kira established a stone fortress and rose to prominence among the Beast Riders. The Beast Riders were a group of men and women who had been banished from Iziz and united to create their own society in the wilderness. These Beast Riders, under the leadership of Lord Modon Kira and his kin, tamed the wild creatures arriving on the planet from the Demon Moon of Dxun and made their home at Kira Fortress. As the Beast Rider army grew in strength, they launched attacks against Iziz, leading to the events known as the Beast Wars. They abducted Princess Galia from the Royal Palace and brought her back to the fortress. There, not by coercion, but out of mutual affection, Galia married Oron Kira, Kira's son.
Following a successful raid by the Beast Raiders, King Ommin reclaimed Iziz. The Jedi Knights Ulic Qel-Droma and Tott Doneeta were then forced to retreat to the fortress alongside Kira and his new bride, Galia. The group fought against the Naddists within the city, eventually defeating Ommin. Subsequently, Oron Kira was crowned King of Onderon and head of the Onderon Royal Family. With the Freedon Nadd Uprising quelled, the Kira family's history became inextricably linked to the planet, and the fortress endured through the centuries as the historic home of the Royal Family.
By 11 ABY, a descendant of Kira, named Modon Kira after his forebear, was ruling Onderon. During her struggle against the resurrected Emperor Palpatine, Kira gave sanctuary at the fortress to Leia Organa Solo, a prominent figure in the New Republic. When Palpatine arrived to seize the children, Han Solo, Organa's husband, killed him. Jedi Knight Empatojayos Brand then absorbed the Emperor's spirit, marking the definitive end of the era's most formidable Dark Lord of the Sith.