diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 76c3930..fec65a4 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Headings that carry a markdown link target are now recognized and normalized — reference-style `## [Unreleased][unreleased]` and inline `## [Unreleased](unreleased)`, on both the Unreleased and versioned sections.
+
 ## [1.5.0] - 2026-08-06
 
 ### Added
diff --git a/src/core/changelog.ts b/src/core/changelog.ts
index 4daa50a..5d41a30 100644
--- a/src/core/changelog.ts
+++ b/src/core/changelog.ts
@@ -42,22 +42,37 @@ export interface ReleaseOptions {
 }
 
 const LINK_REF_RE = /^\[([^\]]+)\]:\s*(.+?)\s*$/;
-const SECTION_RE = /^##\s+\[([^\]]+)\](?:\s*-\s*([0-9]{4}-[0-9]{2}-[0-9]{2}))?\s*$/;
-// Some tools/humans write the heading with a reversed-link-style paren prefix,
-// e.g. `## (Unreleased)[unreleased]`. Strip it before matching SECTION_RE so
-// that regex stays simple — the paren text itself is never used for anything.
-const HEADING_PAREN_PREFIX_RE = /^##\s+\([^)]+\)\s*(?=\[)/;
-
-function stripHeadingParenPrefix(line: string): string {
-  return line.replace(HEADING_PAREN_PREFIX_RE, '## ');
+const SECTION_START_RE = /^##\s+\[([^\]]+)\]/;
+// The heading text may carry a markdown link target — reference-style
+// `## [Unreleased][unreleased]` or inline `## [Unreleased](unreleased)`. It is
+// discarded here; link refs are regenerated on release.
+const LINK_TARGET_RE = /^\[[^\]]*\]|^\([^)]*\)/;
+const SECTION_DATE_RE = /^\s*-\s*(\d{4}-\d{2}-\d{2})\s*$/;
+
+interface SectionMatch {
+  name: string;
+  date: string | null;
 }
 
-function isSectionHeading(line: string): boolean {
-  return SECTION_RE.test(stripHeadingParenPrefix(line));
+function matchSection(line: string): SectionMatch | null {
+  const start = SECTION_START_RE.exec(line);
+  if (!start) {
+    return null;
+  }
+  let rest = line.slice(start[0].length);
+  const target = LINK_TARGET_RE.exec(rest);
+  if (target) {
+    rest = rest.slice(target[0].length);
+  }
+  if (rest.trim() === '') {
+    return { name: start[1]!, date: null };
+  }
+  const date = SECTION_DATE_RE.exec(rest);
+  return date ? { name: start[1]!, date: date[1]! } : null;
 }
 
-function matchSection(line: string): RegExpExecArray | null {
-  return SECTION_RE.exec(stripHeadingParenPrefix(line));
+function isSectionHeading(line: string): boolean {
+  return matchSection(line) !== null;
 }
 
 export function parse(text: string): Changelog {
@@ -192,8 +207,8 @@ function splitHeaderAndSections(mainLines: string[]): {
       i++;
       continue;
     }
-    const version = m[1]!;
-    const date = m[2] ?? null;
+    const version = m.name;
+    const date = m.date;
     i++;
 
     const body: string[] = [];
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-in.md b/tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-in.md
similarity index 63%
rename from tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-in.md
rename to tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-in.md
index 228e41d..6fd9bee 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-in.md
+++ b/tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-in.md
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
 # Changelog
 
-## (Unreleased)[unreleased]
+## [Unreleased][unreleased]
 
 ### Added
 
-- Reversed-link-syntax `(Unreleased)[unreleased]` heading gets normalized on release.
+- Link-target `[Unreleased][unreleased]` heading gets normalized on release.
 
 ## [0.5.0] - 2026-04-01
 
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-out.md b/tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-out.md
similarity index 77%
rename from tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-out.md
rename to tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-out.md
index 514b82a..3673c0a 100644
--- a/tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/changelog-out.md
+++ b/tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/changelog-out.md
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 ### Added
 
-- Reversed-link-syntax `(Unreleased)[unreleased]` heading gets normalized on release.
+- Link-target `[Unreleased][unreleased]` heading gets normalized on release.
 
 ## [0.5.0] - 2026-04-01
 
diff --git a/tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/meta.json b/tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/meta.json
similarity index 100%
rename from tests/fixtures/12-paren-bracket-unreleased/meta.json
rename to tests/fixtures/12-link-target-unreleased/meta.json
diff --git a/tests/unit/changelog.test.ts b/tests/unit/changelog.test.ts
index ce47272..3723a97 100644
--- a/tests/unit/changelog.test.ts
+++ b/tests/unit/changelog.test.ts
@@ -32,39 +32,23 @@ describe('parse', () => {
     expect(parse('# t\r\n\r\n## [Unreleased]\r\n').eol).toBe('\r\n');
   });
 
-  test('treats lowercase `unreleased` heading as Unreleased', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## [unreleased]\n\n- foo\n');
+  test.each([
+    ['lowercase `unreleased` heading', '## [unreleased]\n\n- foo\n'],
+    ['reference-link heading `[Unreleased][unreleased]`', '## [Unreleased][unreleased]\n\n- foo\n'],
+    ['inline-link heading `[Unreleased](unreleased)`', '## [Unreleased](unreleased)\n\n- foo\n'],
+  ])('normalizes %s to Unreleased', (_label, input) => {
+    const cl = parse(input);
     expect(cl.unreleased).not.toBeNull();
     expect(cl.unreleased!.version).toBe('Unreleased');
   });
 
-  test('normalizes reversed-link-syntax `(Unreleased)[unreleased]` heading', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## (Unreleased)[unreleased]\n\n- foo\n');
-    expect(cl.unreleased).not.toBeNull();
-    expect(cl.unreleased!.version).toBe('Unreleased');
-  });
-
-  test('ignores paren text even when it mismatches the bracket name', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## (UNRELEASED)[Unreleased]\n\n- foo\n');
-    expect(cl.unreleased!.version).toBe('Unreleased');
-  });
-
-  test('tolerates extra whitespace between the paren and bracket groups', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## (Unreleased)  [unreleased]\n\n- foo\n');
-    expect(cl.unreleased!.version).toBe('Unreleased');
-  });
-
-  test('supports the paren-bracket shape on versioned headings too', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## (1.2.3)[1.2.3] - 2025-01-01\n');
-    expect(cl.releases).toHaveLength(1);
-    expect(cl.releases[0]!.version).toBe('1.2.3');
-    expect(cl.releases[0]!.date).toBe('2025-01-01');
-  });
-
-  test('does not treat real link syntax `[Unreleased](unreleased)` as a heading', () => {
-    const cl = parse('## [Unreleased](unreleased)\n\n- foo\n');
-    expect(cl.unreleased).toBeNull();
-    expect(cl.releases).toHaveLength(0);
+  test('supports link-target headings on versioned sections too', () => {
+    const ref = parse('## [1.2.3][1.2.3] - 2025-01-01\n');
+    expect(ref.releases[0]!.version).toBe('1.2.3');
+    expect(ref.releases[0]!.date).toBe('2025-01-01');
+    const inline = parse('## [1.2.3](https://x/1.2.3) - 2025-01-01\n');
+    expect(inline.releases[0]!.version).toBe('1.2.3');
+    expect(inline.releases[0]!.date).toBe('2025-01-01');
   });
 
   test('captures dates and versions accurately', () => {