The henge sites are "to be seen as components in a landscape dominated by steep sided valleys and fast flowing streams...focused on a spring which lay between Mayburgh and King Arthur's Round Table, and which connected them to the River Eamont...on the other side of the Eamont are two less well known burial mounds.

The main communication routes of the time – "from Shap, from the Upper Eden, and down the Petteril valley to Carlisle and the Solway all converge at Eamont Bridge, which, as the name implies, is a natural and historic crossing point for the two rivers.

[7] The entrance is due east of the centre of the henge, and frames the rising of the equinoctial sun, which "suggests that the monument may reflect the cardinal points, as do the Long Meg and Castlerigg stone circles.

"[8] The eastward-looking entrance also points to just north of King Arthur's Round Table and the only view obtainable from the interior of the monument is towards the ridge top of Blencathra where the equinoctial sun sets.

There is no obvious explanation for why Mayburgh was built, but the fact that it is close to the confluence of the rivers Lowther and Eamont have given rise to the theory that it was once a trade centre on a route for stone axe trade from the Neolithic axe factory at Langdale.

Other pre-historic complexes: Later monuments: Eden Arts Council erected a 50 tonne granite obelisk nearby, called the "Millennium Stone", to mark the year 2000.