The Cherokee understood this memorable landscape through beliefs shaped by their environment, seeing Table Rock as a giant 3,124-foot-high granite table and Stool Mountain at 2,600 feet as the seat needed to eat there. Their tradition featured an enormous spirit looming over the mountain range, with his shadow forming the bluish haze. They called this place Sha-ka-na-ga, meaning "Great Blue Hills of God," and settlers later preserved the legend in the names they gave the landmarks, influenced by the story of a gigantic chieftain dining here.