Located on a hill north of Nikopolis, Greece, the monument was part of Augustus' broader efforts to celebrate his triumph and consolidate his political and religious authority.

The structure combined military symbolism with religious dedication, prominently displaying bronze rams from the captured enemy ships and reliefs reflecting Augustan propaganda.

[2] It served as a religious dedication, political statement, and physical commemoration of naval dominance, renowned for its display of bronze rams captured from the defeated fleets of Antony and Cleopatra.

[4][2] Located on a hilltop and oriented towards the naval battlefield, it dominated the landscape and would direct a visitor's gaze upon the other battle-site commemorative projects, such as the Actian dekanaia and the Temple of Apollo Aktios.

[1][2] The tropaeum, surviving the raid that occurred to its surroundings in 267 AD, might have remained in operation as late as the reign of Constantine I and was repaired in the fourth century.

Above the lower terrace stood the second retaining wall made of limestone blocks, on which the bronze rams from Antony and Cleopatra's defeated fleet were prominently displayed.

Measuring approximately 63 meters in length and about 7.3 m in height, the wall bent northwards at both ends towards the hill to support the rectangular upper platform.

Above the rams, there was a Latin inscription on the retaining wall, celebrating Augustus' triumph and dedicating the monument to Neptune and Mars:Imperator Caesar, son of the Divus Julius, victor in the war which he waged on behalf of the res publica in this region, when he was consul for the fifth time and imperator for the seventh, after peace had been secured on land and sea, consecrated to Mars and Neptune the camp from which he set forth to attack the enemy, now ornamented with naval spoils.

At its center was the main altar dedicated to Apollo, a large rectangular platform (22 x 6.5 m) made of sandstone that aligned with the monument's central axis.