Hill of Hearing

A tall hill of the Emyn Muil, known in Elvish as Amon Lhaw, that stood on the eastern bank of Anduin at the southern end of Nen Hithoel. Its twin on the west bank was Amon Hen, the Hill of Sight, that had a seat at its summit that enhanced the powers of vision; the Hill of Hearing had a similar seat that presumably granted unusual powers of hearing, though it is never described in detail.

The seats on the Hills of Hearing and of Sight were placed there by the Kings of Gondor, and at the height of Gondor's power both hills were fortified. As Gondor waned, the power of Sauron grew, and by the time of the War of the Ring, the Hill of Hearing lay under his control. It was on the slopes of this hill that Frodo and Sam landed after they left the Company, and took their first steps into the domain of the Enemy.