Its relatively inaccessible location, reached only by helicopter, made it an important United States Army and US Marine Corps observation post and artillery base from 1966 to 1969.

[1] The mountain rises almost 790 feet (240 m) from the Cam Lo River bottom and sits astride several major infiltration routes from North Vietnam and Laos.

[4] The Rockpile is located at the junction of five major valleys less than 10 miles away from the hotly contested DMZ and held a commanding view over the surrounding area including several key infiltration routes.

Route 9 runs parallel to the DMZ from Dong Ha, past the Rockpile, and on through Khe Sanh before becoming a dirt track that crosses the border into Laos.

Brigadier General Lowell English, a commander in charge of Operation Hastings, stated that the Marines sought to take the North Vietnamese by surprise on their crucial infiltration routes and to smash and destroy their force in the DMZ region before they had a chance to regain balance or momentum.

Generally a twenty man contingent, composed mostly of Army technicians, operated at the summit with sophisticated detection and communication equipment that monitored the DMZ.

Typically the provisional Marine team, including an officer, was rotated every thirty days and became one of the most sought after positions in the DMZ as it was considered the safest place in the area due to its fortress-like pinnacle.

[12] Most of the base's supplies were delivered via helicopter due to its relatively inaccessible location; however, pilots often had to abort landing because of heavy fog, intense rain, and winds exceeding fifty miles per hour.