Click on the map to see more information about each site

An old image of the god Vishnu accompanied by some divinities and elephants is carved on a large rock, bathed by the waters of the Mekong in the middle of the river at Don Deng, the Red Island. The carved image can only be seen when the waters are very low. Many Khmer kings identified themselves with Vishnu, who symbolises the original chaos and the primordial waters. Here Vishnu is lying on Ananta in the Ocean, floating asleep between two cosmic eras. Interestingly enough, there is a similar arrangement of sculptures bathed by a river in Kbal Spean upstream of Angkor in Cambodia. Angkor was the seat of power that followed Shrestrapura.

On the top of the rock, holes and linga have been carved into the stone. The holes may have been used to hold wooden poles, which could have supported an expanse of fabric to provide shade and a place to rest after offerings and prayers to the god were made.

Don Deng island, in the middle of the Mekong River.