Ba Phnum District

Ba Phnom District (Khmer: ស្រុកបាភ្នំ sometimes spelled "Ba Phnum") is a district located in Prey Veng Province, in south eastern Cambodia. The hills surrounding the town are the highest elevation points in Prey Veng province. In Khmer, Ba means "ancestor" and Phnom means "hill." When combined, the town is known as "Hill of the Ancestors."

Ba Phnom ស្រុកបាភ្នំ
District (srok)
Ba Phnom Location in Cambodia
Coordinates: 11°14′N 105°22′E
Country	Cambodia
Province	Prey Veng
Communes	9
Villages	108
Population  (1998)[1]
• Total	71,662
Time zone	+7
Geocode	1401

Ba Phnom is a relatively remote location and has been attractive to ascenti monks (loak dhutang) for centuries. It has also been an occasional center from which millennial movements have radiated throughout Khmer history.

Ba Phnom is a site of interest for Cambodian historians. According to some accounts, the area is the birthplace of the Khmer people. An inscription on Wat Jaan, the pre-Angkorian temple at the base of the mountain (ca. 629 AD), associates Ba Phnom with Shiva and refers to it as "the holy mountain."

Ba Phnom was prominently featured in many of the rural scenes in the 2016 documentary Angkor Awakens.

Human sacrifices were made here until 1872. Khmer Kings made pilgrimage here.

Funan capital city

Ba Phnom has purportedly been the location of Vyadhapura, capital of the Kingdom of Funan.

References

1. General Population Census of Cambodia, 1998: Village Gazetteer. National Institute of Statistics. February 2000. pp. 214–215.