The name Yelahanka is believed to be derived from the name Valipakka or Ilaipakka Naadu during the Chola occupation, which means “along the highway”. Also they called the highway, `Tadigai Vali’.An inscription dated 1267 AD found in Doddaballapur mentions, Dechi Deverasa was ruling this region under the power of Hoysala monarch Narasimha lll.
Many inscriptions found here states this place as Ilaipakka, Elava and Yelavaka.Later, during the Hoysala period, the city came to be known as Elavanka, which gradually evolved into Yelahanka.
Some of the prominent pesons from this region served in the armies of the Gangas, Cholas, Hoysalas & Vijayanagar as the peasant warriors and attained the status of territorial chiefs of Mandalikas or as Mahanadaprabhus of Yelahanka to whom Kempegowda I (1510-1570) belonged.
Kempegowda l was the Chieftain and feudatory of the area during the reign of Vijayanagar empire. He built Bengaluru fort in 1537 AD and transferred his capital from Yelahanka to Bengaluru.
It is also said that Kempegowda l built a fort in Yelahanka, however, the only surviving reference today is in the form of a road named Kote Beedi meaning “fort road” in Kannada near the Venugopal Swamy temple.
