Crossed by the Ocmulgee River, Macon was once inhabited by the Creeks who built funerary mounds here. Some of these tumuli are still visible, as are remains of the Mississippian culture, a Pre-Columbian civilisation which occupied the area between 900 and 1100 AD. The Ocmulgee National Monument Visitor Center houses an informative exhibition, which can be followed by visiting the Earth Lodge (an old council chamber) and the Great Temple, a mound over 52ft high.