Sam and the pilgrims camped at "Jonesborough" on September 16, 1867, having departed from Damascus that morning. This is reported to be the location of Nimrod's burial place. The Quaker City Itinerary calls the site Kefr Hauwar. This site name does not occur in any Google maps I have found but it is mentioned in many documents from the era. Of special interest was the entry in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, Volume 26, page 45. The location mapped is certainly not correct. It is more likely located about half way between Baniyas and Damascus.

Ian Strathcarron notes that at the time Twain visited the area it was known as Qala'at Namrud, the Castle of the Large Cliff. "More recently Judaic enthusiasts, noting the similarity between the Arabic Namrud and their own Nimrod, have grafted the Genesis legend onto the castle...". Twain, not knowing when it was built nor by whom, assigned it to high antiquity. Strathcarron reports that it has since been determined to have been built by Salah al-Din's nephew Al-Aziz "to pre-empt the expected assault on Damascus from Acre by the Sixth Crusade." The attack never occurred, the crusaders left Acre and the castle fell into disrepair. Strathcarron reports that "When the Ottomans arrived two hundred years later they used the castle as an up-market prison for disfavored officers and gentlemen."

Murray (Route 30 page 446) describes the castle:

The most conspicuous ruin is the citadel—a quadrangle some 4 acres in extent, surrounded by a'massive wall, with heavy towers at the angles and along the sides. On the E., S., and W. the walls are still from 10 to 20 ft. high, though broken and shattered. The northern and western walls are washed by the stream from the fountain ; along the eastern wall is a deep moat; while the southern is carried along the brow of the chasm called Wady Za‘ârch. This chasm is spanned by a bridge, from which a fine gateway opens into the citadel. The substructions of the bridge, the gateway, and the round corner-towers of the citadel are all of high antiquity, being constructed of large bevelled stones. They have been repaired, however, as we learn from an Arabic inscription over the gate, in comparatively recent times. The most striking view of the site and surrounding scenery is obtained from the S. bank of Wady Za’âreh, a few paces below the bridge. The chasm is at our feet, with the streamlet dashing through it amid rocks and clumps of. oleanders; then we have the old bridge garlanded with creepers and long trails of ferns; then the crumbling walls and towers of the citadel; then the wooded slopes around, with the castle of Subeibeh towering high over all. The ruins of the ancient town cover the S. bank of Wady Za’âreh, with a portion of the level ground to the W. and N.W. of the citadel. Great numbers of granite and limestone shafts lie scattered about amid heaps of hewn stones. All is now ruin and confusion, beautified by the abundant waters and rank vegetation. The modern village consists of some 40 houses huddled together in a corner of the citadel—that of the sheikh crowning a massive tower of the north-eastern angle.