According to the step well's Persian inscription, the step well was built in 1485 by Dhai Harir, a household lady of Mahmud Begada. She was the superintendent of the women's palace. Dhai Harir built a mosque and a tomb in which she was buried. The well bears two inscriptions, one in Sanskrit on the south, and one in Arabic on the north wall, of the first gallery. This holy and wholesome water; the splendid travelers' rest-house enclosed on four sides by carved and painted walls, and a grove of fruit trees with their fruit, a well, and a pool of water for the use of man and heist, were built in the reign of the Sultan of the Sultans of the age, established by the grace of God and of the faith, Abul Fath Mahmud Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, son of Ahmed Shah, son of Muhammad Shah, son of Muzaffar Shah the Sultan, may God keep his kingdom. year of the reign. A Sanskrit inscription says that the step well was built in December 1499 AD. During the reign of Mahmud Shah, Bai Harir Sultani, locally known as Dhai Harir, built the step well. The name later corrupted into Dada Hari. It cost 3,29,000 Mahmudis (? 3 lakh) at that time. Built-in sandstone in Solanki architectural style, the Dada Harir stepwell is five stories deep. It is octagonal (8-sided polygon) in a plan at the top, built on an intricately carved large number of pillars. Each floor is spacious enough to provide for people to congregate. It was dug deep to access groundwater at that level, accounting for seasonal fluctuations in water level due to rainfall over the year. The air and light vents in the roofs at various floors and at the landing level are in the form of large openings. From the first story level, three staircases lead to the bottom water level of the well, which is considered a unique feature. At the level of the ground, it is 190 feet long by forty wide. From a domed canopy, a descent of eight steps leads to a covered gallery at the east end. The second flight of nine steps leads to another gallery, and a third of eight steps to the lowest gallery two or three feet above the water level. A corridor runs along the sides at each landing and leads to other galleries that cross the well at intervals.
