Hirebenakal is reported to be the largest necropolis among the 2000 odd megalithic sites found in South India, most of them in the state of Karnataka.

Covered with thorny bushes and slippery scattered boulders, the climb to the site is difficult, with no paths for a goat track.

[3] The port-holed chamber in the western group of the Hirebenakal area has been compared to similar finds at Rajankolur.

[4] The first published reports on Hirebenakal were those in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1835, by Philip Meadows Taylor, who was under the service of the Nizam of Hyderabad.

Between 1944 and 1948, Sir Mortimer Wheeler undertook archaeological excavations; these were supplemented by Adiga Sundara and were published in 1975.

[1] Andrew Bauer of the Department of Anthropology at Stanford University has carried out investigations in recent years and identified about 1000 different types of antiquaries within an area of about 20 hectares (49 acres).

Bauer states in his writings that the dolmens supported by stone slabs appear to have been erected perfectly, without any joining mortar.

Pre-megalithic implements, iron slag, and pottery from the Neolithic, megalithic and early historic periods have been identified.

Iron implements, a common megalithic period find in South India, is also found at the Hirebenakal site.

[3] Although the renovation and maintenance of the site is the responsibility of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), hardly any activity is evident.

[3] A crucial part of the site's maintenance is improving the signage at the base of the hill and near the Raichur-Koppal State Highway.