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.