Mt. Ebal is one of the highest peaks (just over 3,000 feet) in the Samaria mountains and is located just north of Shechem. In Deut. 27:11-13 Mt. Ebal is paired with Mt. Gerizim which is just to the south of Shechem. Archaeologists have discovered a large burnt-offerings altar on Mt. Ebal that dates from approximately 1200 B.C.E. and does not resemble altars that existed in Canaanite religious practice. The altar indicates that Mt. Ebal was an Israelite cultic site and perhaps the first cultic center for the Israelite tribes.
In Deut. 27:1-8 Moses instructed Israel to construct an altar on Mt. Ebal and offer burnt sacrifices as the people rejoiced before God for having brought them into the land. Moses then instructed six tribes to stand on Mt. Gerizim and six on Mt. Ebal. Those on Mt. Gerizim would recite the blessings of obeying God and those on Mt. Ebal would recite the curses for disobeying God. Joshua later led the Israelites in carrying out Moses instructions (Josh. 8:30-35).
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