The tall and steep peak that rose out of the plains of central Númenor was named the Meneltarma or Pillar of Heaven, and was considered a holy place by the people of that land. At its peak was an open space, held sacred to Eru Ilúvatar, and watched over by the Witnesses of Manwë, three great Eagles. It was because of this Hallow of Eru that the Meneltarma was sometimes known as the Hallowed Mountain.

The mountain was held in special reverence during the earlier history of Númenor, a period in which its Kings processed to its Hallow three times each year to give the traditional Three Prayers. In later times, with the ascendancy of the King's Men, this tradition faded, and by the time of the later Kings - with the single notable exception of Tar-Palantir - the traditions of the Hallowed Mountain were all but forgotten by the Rulers of Númenor.