The archaeological site boundaries of Los Guachimontones consist of two ceremonial areas, numerous house mounds, and terraced hillsides covering an area of approximately 19 hectares.
However, remains of the site extend beyond the protected boundaries.
The two ceremonial areas are Los Guachimontones, located on the hill slopes, and Loma Alta, located to the northeast on the hill top.
Los Guachimontones consists of nine guachimontones, two ballcourts, a major and minor plaza, and numerous house mounds.
Loma Alta consists of 5 guachimontones, one ball court, and one major plaza.

A typical guachimontón (colloquially called a circle in both English and Spanish) consists of four basic architectural features: the patio, the banquette, the altar, and the platforms.
The patio consists of a circular platform that forms the base of the building and dictates its maximum diameter.
Constructed on top of the patio are both the banquette and the altar.
The banquette consists of a ring-shaped platform whose outer diameter conforms to the diameter of the patio platform.
The inner diameter of the banquette is set somewhere in the patio space dictating the size of the platforms and constraining the available patio space.
Constructed in the center of the patio is the altar that exhibits a range of diameters, sizes, and shapes and constrains the available patio space.
Typically, constructed on top of the banquette is an even number of quadrangular platforms ranging in number from four to sixteen.
Variation in guachimonton form and orientation exists throughout the Tequila Valleys that makes understanding the structures, their meaning, and their use somewhat difficult to interpret.

Guachimontones are possibly an outgrowth of earlier Middle Formative burial mounds, such as the one documented near San Felipe by Weigand.
These large, low mounds once contained dozens of burials before looters and construction activities destroyed these mounds.
While burials typically are not found within the altars of a guachimonton, there may be some continuity in cosmological belief from the Middle Formative to Late Formative periods.
Based on a limited number of excavations of guachimontones, the earliest dated guachimonton is that of Circle 1 and Circle 6 at Los Guachimontones.
These two structures, despite their drastic difference in size, date to the Tequila II phase (300 to 100 BCE).
Circle 6 is notable for containing several secondary burials within its altar, possibly part of a place-making ritual involving important ancestors.
The archaeological site boundaries of Los Guachimontones consist of two ceremonial areas, numerous house mounds, and terraced hillsides covering an area of approximately 19 hectares. However, remains of the site extend beyond the protected boundaries. The two ceremonial areas are Los Guachimontones, located on the hill slopes, and Loma Alta, located to the northeast on the hill top. Los Guachimontones consists of nine guachimontones, two ballcourts, a major and minor plaza, and numerous house mounds. Loma Alta consists of 5 guachimontones, one ball court, and one major plaza.
A typical guachimontón (colloquially called a circle in both English and Spanish) consists of four basic architectural features: the patio, the banquette, the altar, and the platforms. The patio consists of a circular platform that forms the base of the building and dictates its maximum diameter. Constructed on top of the patio are both the banquette and the altar. The banquette consists of a ring-shaped platform whose outer diameter conforms to the diameter of the patio platform. The inner diameter of the banquette is set somewhere in the patio space dictating the size of the platforms and constraining the available patio space. Constructed in the center of the patio is the altar that exhibits a range of diameters, sizes, and shapes and constrains the available patio space. Typically, constructed on top of the banquette is an even number of quadrangular platforms ranging in number from four to sixteen. Variation in guachimonton form and orientation exists throughout the Tequila Valleys that makes understanding the structures, their meaning, and their use somewhat difficult to interpret.
Guachimontones are possibly an outgrowth of earlier Middle Formative burial mounds, such as the one documented near San Felipe by Weigand. These large, low mounds once contained dozens of burials before looters and construction activities destroyed these mounds. While burials typically are not found within the altars of a guachimonton, there may be some continuity in cosmological belief from the Middle Formative to Late Formative periods. Based on a limited number of excavations of guachimontones, the earliest dated guachimonton is that of Circle 1 and Circle 6 at Los Guachimontones. These two structures, despite their drastic difference in size, date to the Tequila II phase (300 to 100 BCE). Circle 6 is notable for containing several secondary burials within its altar, possibly part of a place-making ritual involving important ancestors.
Guachimontones