[1]: 113, 116 Fed by the Siem Reap River flowing down from the Kulen Hills, it is the second-largest baray in the Angkor region (after the West Baray) and one of the largest handcut water reservoirs on Earth,[2] measuring roughly 7.5 kilometers by 1830 m and holding over 55 million cubic meters of water.
Stones bearing inscriptions that mark the construction of the baray have been found at all four of its corners.
[3]: 65 The labour and organization necessary for its construction were staggering: Its dikes contain roughly 8 million cubic meters of fill.
Other theories say that barays served primarily a symbolic purpose in Khmer religious life, representing the seas of creation that surround Mount Meru, home of the Hindu gods.
[3]: 60 The East Baray today contains no water; farmers till crops on its bed.