The "hill of Jebus" that David captured and made "the City of David" was located on this, roughly 12 acre, spur south of the present Old City. Surrounded by the steep sides of the Kidron on the east and the Tyropoeon Valley on the west, it proved an almost impregnable fortress. How David managed to gain entrance to the city through the "water shaft" to capture it (2 Sam 5) remains a mystery.
Recent archaeological excavations have exposed a palatial building that archaeologist Eilat Mazar thinks was David's palace.
