The hill Onidah was a place of arms, and the apparent purpose of assembling there was to improve their armaments. If it was an outcropping of obsidian as Sorenson suggests, then the purpose was to renew the lethal edges of their weapons. If it were some type of armory, then they acquired the actual weapons at that location. Whatever happened at the “place of arms” it was a prelude to an actual defense, and that defense takes place in a different location, on the “mount which was called Antipas.” Military commanders have long known the advantage of defending high ground. In this case, we are fairly certain that we have a smaller population facing a larger army. Thus they locate themselves on a mount that must have been particularly defensible.