The Olakkannesvara Temple sits on the highest point of the Mahabalipuram headland and served as a lighthouse for mariners on the Coromandel Coast from the 8th century until the British built a new lighthouse a short distance away in 1900. The view from the top of the hill takes in the entire monument complex, the beach, and — on clear days — far down the coast in both directions.
The temple is a Shiva shrine with a modest sanctum and a tower; what makes it worth climbing to is the combination of the view and the sense of the hill's long history as a navigational landmark. The Pallava dynasty, who built Mahabalipuram as a port city, would have seen ships offshore using this headland as their bearing point for entering harbour.