The tower got its name from the area it adjoined, known as "Nikitsky End." This area, in turn, was named after the church of St. Nikita the Great Martyr that was located there. Inside the tower were two wooden bridges and a stone arch over the lower tier, where in 1676 supplies of gunpowder and lead were stored. According to researchers, at the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, the Nikitskaya Tower housed a dungeon for interrogating suspects. The tower is located at the southern corner of the Kremlin and has a round, blind structure.