Ravenhill was an outlying hill beneath the height of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. It stood at the end of a ridge of high ground extending southwards from the mountain itself, overlooking the River Running and the valley of Dale.
The Dwarves of Erebor built a guard-post on the hill, about five hours march from the Front Gate to the Mountain, and above its chamber for many years lived friendly intelligent ravens, like Carc. It was they, and the ravens of hill, that gave it its name.
In T.A. 2941 Thorin and Company made their first camp north of the hill as they reached Erebor. Much later the Company returned to Ravenhill when they made their escape from the Mountain. After spending one night in the rock chamber on the hill the thrush that they had last seen on the "Doorstep" came to them. When Balin wished that it was a raven the thrush flew off and brought back Roäc, who gave them the news of the death of Smaug and the approach of the Elves and Lake-men.
In the Battle of Five Armies the Elves, Gandalf, and Bilbo Baggins took a stand on Ravenhill. Knocked senseless, Bilbo woke up in this same place the next morning (having not been found since he had been wearing the Ring when he was struck down).
 Other Versions of the Legendarium
In the manuscript of The Hobbit, when the Company climbed up to Ravenhill Thorin pointed to a rocky opening and stated that "steps lead down back into the mountain". That there was to be a tunnel from Ravenhill into the Lonely Mountain was further suggested in J.R.R. Tolkien's plot notes, in which the opening was to be guarded by Dori and Nori. This tunnel did not appear in the finished work.
 Portrayal in adaptations
- The Dwarves go to Ravenhill to see the destruction of Lake-town from a distance. During the battle, it is used by Azog as his command center. Kíli and Fíli die attacking it.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "On the Doorstep"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "Not at Home"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Gathering of the Clouds"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Clouds Burst"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, "The Return Journey"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, "While the Dragon's Away...", p. 583
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, John D. Rateliff (ed.), The History of The Hobbit, Return to Bag-End, The Second Phase, "The Siege of the Mountain", "Plot Notes E: 'Little Bird'", p. 626
|Route of Thorin and Company|
|Bag End · Green Dragon · The Shire · Lone-lands · Last Bridge · Trollshaws · Troll's Cave · Rivendell · High Pass · Front Porch · Goblin-town · Goblin-gate · Eagle's Eyrie · Carrock · Beorn's Hall · Wilderland · Forest Gate · Elf-path · Mirkwood · Elvenking's Halls · Forest River · Lake-town · Long Lake · River Running · Desolation of the Dragon · Ravenhill · Back Door · Lonely Mountain · Great Hall of Thráin|