The 277.9 m (912 ft) tall hill is better known for a big monument complex that was built in 1963 by Ukrainian architect Anatoly Ignashchenko to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the liberation of Savur Mohyla during World War II.

[citation needed] Rosamund Bartlett writes, "Many popular legends had been spun about this particular kurgan, which had acted as a kind of frontier between the Russians and the Turks and Tatars in the mediaeval period; Saur appears in them either as an evil Turkish khan or a Cossack hero.

"[1] During World War II, Savur-Mohyla was the focal point of intense fighting, when Soviet troops managed to retake control of the height from German forces in August 1943.

[3][4] On 28 July 2014, after intense fighting, the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that they recaptured control of Savur-Mohyla from Russian troops.

[citation needed] On 21 August 2014, the memorial's obelisk collapsed after enduring weeks of heavy indiscriminate shelling from Ukrainian armed forces.