The Phnom Kulen mountain range is located 30 km north of Angkor Wat. Its name means "mountain of lychees". [3] There is a sacred site at the top of the hill. Phnom Kulen is considered a sacred mountain in Cambodia, of special religious significance for Hindus and Buddhists who come to the mountain on pilgrimage.

It also has an important symbolic importance for Cambodians as the birthplace of the ancient Khmer Empire, for it was in Phnom Kulen that King Jayavarma II proclaimed independence from Java in 804 CE. Jayavarman II initiated the cult of Devaraja to the king, [4]: ​​99-101 a cult linga, in what is dated 804 CE and declaring his independence from Java, of whom the Khmer had been a state of vassalage (if this is really "Java", the Khmer chvea used to describe Champa, or "Lava" (a lao kingdom) is debated, as well as the legend that it was previously held as a ransom of the kingdom in Java. See Angkor Civilization of Higham for more information on the debate). [5] During the Angkoran era, the relief was known as Mahendraparvata (the mountain of the Great Indra).

Kbal Spean is known for its sculptures representing fertility and its waters, which have a special meaning for Hindus. Just 5 cm below the surface of the water, more than 1000 small sculptures of linga are engraved in the bed of the sandstone river. The waters are considered sacred, since Jayavarman II chose to bathe in the river, and the river diverted so that the bed of stone could be carved. The sculptures include a stone representation of the Hindu god Vishnu lying on the serpent Ananta, with his wife Lakshmi at his feet. [7] A lotus flower protrudes from its navel with the god Brahma. The river then ends with a waterfall and a swimming pool.

Near these mountains is Preah Ang Thom, a sixteenth-century Buddhist monastery noted for the giant reclining Buddha, the largest in the country.

The Samré tribe was once living on the edge of Phnom Kulen, extracting sandstone and transporting it to the royal sites.

The Khmer Rouge used the location as a final fortress when its regime came to an end in 1979.