For generations, the Cherokees lived in clusters of independent towns along river bottoms throughout the Southern Appalachians, and their traditional territory extended into eight modern states. Judaculla Rock lies thirty miles from the Qualla Boundary, home of today’s Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. The petroglyph is near Cullowee, once the site of a historic Cherokee town and a council house mound. It may have served as a boundary marker or marked Cherokee hunting grounds closely guarded by the legendary giant and master of animals, Judaculla (Tsu-tla-ka-la).