Sheikhupura was founded by Jahangir, who called it Jahangirpura and built a hunting lodge there. The Hiran Minar, a tower raised over the grave of his pet antelope Mansraj, with a tank and a pavilion, stands outside the town and is one of the most unusual Mughal monuments anywhere.
Nankana Sahib, the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, is in this district. So is Jandiala Sher Khan, where Waris Shah is buried. So is Chak 119 Bhuler, where over three hundred Sikhs died in August 1947.
The district was heavily Sikh and Hindu before 1947 and its rural areas saw very heavy killing.
Sheikhupura is now an industrial town of Pakistani Punjab.
One district holds the birthplace of the founder of Sikhism, the grave of the greatest Punjabi poet and a Mughal antelope's tomb, and its Sikh population left in a year.
The fort inside the town is a Mughal building later held by the Sikh state and used as a residence by a member of Ranjit Singh Ji's household. It stands, and it is not open.
Nankana Sahib holds Gurdwara Janam Asthan and several others, and Indian pilgrims travel there in visa parties at Baisakhi and at the anniversary of the birth of Guru Nanak Sahib Ji.
Waris Shah's grave is at Jandiala Sher Khan in this district. Heer was written at Malka Hans nearby.