A unique architectural structure standing behind the The Dalam at Kutaraja, of which numerous representations have been published. Its origin and purpose remain unexplained except by a legend resembling that of Nebuchadnezzar’s hanging gardens. The story holds that a prince of Acheh, to gratify his highland consort who was homesick for the mountains of her native land, had this artificial hill erected and a pleasure ground laid out around it. Europeans at Kutaraja incorrectly named the Gunongan ‘Kotta Pechut’ (should be ‘Kuta Pochut’). In the Hikayat Malem Dagang, the hero Malem Dagang is brought before the Sultan at the Gunongan: ‘What is the name of this Gunongan? Its summit is of a truth exceeding beautiful; the king goes thither on horseback.‘
See Also
Source
The Achehnese, Vol. II, by Dr. C. Snouck Hurgronje, translated by A.W.S. O’Sullivan, indexed by R.J. Wilkinson. Leyden: E.J. Brill, 1906.