Most hill forts were temporary places of refuge to protect people and livestock,
discouraging attack and tempting enemy raiders to move elsewhere for easier pickings.
They lacked the sturdiness, provisions and regular garrison of a true fortress to withstand a prolonged siege,
but got away with that because sieges were very rare in the Bronze Age.
Some however developed into permanent settlements.
Though hill forts were probably as old as villages, they did not proliferate before the end of the Bronze Age.
Most of them are found in Europe, or maybe that is where most of them remain;
many hill forts have formed the basis of later stone fortresses.
War Matrix - Hill fort
Late Bronze Age 1600 BCE - 1100 BCE, Weapons and technology