Man Mound has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is nationally significant as a rare example of a human-shaped Effigy Mound. Effigy Mounds are earthen sculptures created in the shapes of animals and spiritual beings by the indigenous people of the area that is now southern Wisconsin and small adjacent portions of Illinois, Iowa, and Minnesota between approximately 750 and 1200 CE. Effigy Mounds are respected as burial and sacred sites.