• Phnom Bakheng is a Hindu and Buddhist temple in the form of a temple mountain dedicated to Shiva. It was built at the end of the 9th century, during the reign of King Yasovarman and is located atop a hill.
• Nowadays it is a popular tourist spot for sunset views of the much grander temple of Angkor Wat, which lies amid the jungle about 1.5 km to the southeast.
• Constructed more than 200 years before Angkor Wat, Phnom Bakheng was in its day the principal temple of the Angkor region, and historians believe it was the architectural centerpiece of a new capital, Yasodharapura, that Yasovarman built when he moved the court from the previous capital of Hariharalaya in the Roluos area.