The mountain is within the Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park.

The western part of the mountain includes several other communes, such as Vallo della Lucania, and ends at the southern Cilentan Coast in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

At its top is the sanctuary of Madonna del Monte Sacro, with a tall cross which is illuminated by night.

The sanctuary occupies the site an ancient temple of the Oenotrians, dedicated to a deity later identified with Hera.

The name derives from a Saracen medieval presence, since it comes from the Arabic "Mount of the Idol", perhaps referring to the ancient sanctuary.