The ruins are located in the area of the Tonto National Forest just outside of the town of Carefree, Arizona.

The desert foothills in the area surrounding the town of Carefree, Arizona, were home to the Hohokam culture.

The ruins of this fort is located atop a desert foothill in the Tonto National Forest on the outskirts of the town of Carefree.

The act is a bill (16 USC 431–433) passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906, which strictly forbids the removal of artifacts from Indian Mesa.

[6][7] According to the law "Any person who shall appropriate, excavate, injure, or destroy any historic or prehistoric ruin or monument, or any object of antiquity, situated on lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States, without the permission of the Secretary of the Department of the Government having jurisdiction over the lands on which said antiquities are situated, shall, upon conviction, be fined or be imprisoned for a period of not more than ninety days, or shall suffer both fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.