[4] In the early 18th century, when the historic Natchez people occupied the site, they added to the mounds.

[4][5] The village was the Natchez tribe's main political and religious ceremonial center in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, according to historical and archaeological evidence.

After suffering a military defeat by French settlers in 1730, the Natchez abandoned the site and moved away.

Between 1682 and 1729, the Natchez people used the village as their main ceremonial center, as noted in contemporary French accounts.

Mound C was the platform for the Sun Temple, which included a charnel house for the remains of the Natchez elite.

During this period, French settlers began to explore the region and establish settlements that gradually encroached on Natchez territory.

In addition, the tribe was getting caught up in French and British rivalry in the region, each of which tried to maintain trade with the Natchez.

Archaeological investigations and excavations at the site were conducted in 1930, 1962, and 1972 by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH).

Managed by the state of Mississippi, the large property includes a museum, which holds numerous artifacts excavated from the site and an extensive collection of baskets made by area tribes, including native and European "grave goods" buried with the elite Natchez; a reconstructed Natchez house, based on historical and archeological evidence; picnic pavilion; and miles of nature trails.