The name of the place derives from ‘Ponmalai’: ‘Pon’ meaning gold and ‘Malai’ meaning hill – therefore the hill of gold. It has often been identified with ‘Poonamallee’ or ‘Poovirundhavalli’ which is presently a suburb of Chennai. However, it is also the name of a fortress at Tiruchirappalli, and it is difficult to ascertain which of these two places these coins were struck at. In the past the same mint-name has also been wrongly identified as ‘Poonch’ and ‘Poona’.