The area in which Amb was located is historically known as Tanawal. This is in the Hazara region in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The part covered by Amb is called "Upper Tanawal", and is now part of Mansehra District. "Lower Tanawal" is in the Abbottabad District. The name "Tanawal" comes from the name of the tribe that lives there, the Tanoli (or Tanawali). The Tanoli are Muslims. They speak Hindko.