The first mention of Skardu dates to the first half of the 16th century. Mirza Haidar (1499–1551) described Askardu in the 16th-century text Tarikh-i-Rashidi Baltistan as one of the districts of this country. With the conquest of in 1586 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (1556–1605), started by Ali Sher Khan Anchan, the kings of Skardu were mentioned as rulers of Little Tibet in the historiography of the Mughal Empire. These are, in particular, histories of Al-Badaoni, Abu'l Fazl, 'Abdu-l Hamid Lahori, Saqi Must'ad Khan and Inayat Khan.

The first mention of Skardu in European literature was made by Frenchman François Bernier (1625–1688). Bernier was a physician and world traveller who reached India in 1659 and in 1663, in the wake of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, travelled to Kashmir. In 1670, he described his encounter with a King of Little Tibet — one related to Murad Khan — and mentions Eskerdou (Skardu) as one of the places of Baltistan in his travel memoirs. After this mention of Little Tibet and Skardu through the country, Little Tibet and Skardu were quickly drawn into Asian maps produced in Europe. Skardu was first mentioned as Eskerdow the map "Indiae orientalis nec non insularum adiacentium nova descriptio" by Nicolaes Visscher II, published 1680–1700, and the first recorded Baltistan as Tibet Minor.