Adamswiller is located some 20 km north by north-west of Phalsbourg and 20 km south-east of Sarralbe.
One of the most important lords of Le Ban de la Roche was Georges-Jean de Veldenz (Georg Hans von Veldenz) (1543–1592), son-in-law of the King of Sweden, founder of the city of Phalsbourg.
The castle overlooks an old strategic passageway, which rises from the Alsace plain and Reinhardsmunster through the Mosselthal vallley, to reach the Baerenbach valley, the Stambach,Annex and, which finally reaches Lutzelbourg, and Phalsbourg in Lorraine.
He attempted to develop his Alsatian territories to be the focus of his state, which led to him building the city of Phalsbourg (Pfalzburg) in 1570 and populating it with Protestant refugeees from the Duchy of Lorraine.
Positioned to the north-west of Phalsbourg on the road towards the Saarland, Gungwiller is a one-street village surrounded by farmland.
Hirschland is some twelve kilometres (seven miles) to the northwest of Phalsbourg, beside the autoroute towards Sarre-Union and, further to the west, Metz.
The village is the meeting point of several roads, the largest of them being the Route Nationale RN61 (Phalsbourg - Saarbrücken).
The story recounts the journey of two young brothers from Phalsbourg in Lorraine, Andrew and Julian Volden, who, following the annexation of the Alsace-Lorraine by the Prussians in the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian War, and the death of their father, went in search of family members through the French provinces.
His son Count Palatine George John I of Veldenz founded the town of Phalsbourg (Pfalzburg), which he nevertheless was forced to pledge to Duke Charles III of Lorraine shortly afterwards.
The principality was acknowledged by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II in 1629.