Until 1949, the hill was part of the nearby German village of Wyler in the municipality of Kranenburg. Duivelsberg's German name, Wylerberg, is derived from the name of this village. Duivelsberg was one of the many small areas the Netherlands annexed from Germany on 23 April 1949. Unlike the other areas, Duivelsberg was not returned to the German authorities on 1 August 1963 and remained Dutch territory. The politician Marinus van der Goes van Naters, who lived in nearby Nijmegen during the negotiations with Germany, successfully urged that the nature reserve be kept Dutch.