The Dictionary of Sydney was archived in 2021.
Tabletop mountain in the Yengo National Park north west of Sydney, between the Hawkesbury River (Dyarubbin) and the lower Hunter Valley, that forms part of the of the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area. The mountain is a remnant of an ancient volcano and is a sacred place to local Aboriginal people and s regarded as the ‘Uluru of the NSW east coast’.
A gigantic Ancestral Being was said to have stepped on to the mountain over nearby Burragurra or ‘Devil’s Rock’, leaving footprints on the land. It was a place where many different clans came together for ceremonial business. Dominating the skyline of the Bulga Plateau, It can be seen from all along the Boree Track on the east, from places on the Putty Road to the west, and from the ridges above Wisemans Ferry (Woolloomoorang) on the Hawkesbury River (Dyarubbin) to the south.
The meaning of 'Yengo' is unknown but the original spelling was 'Yungo', so it possibly derives from the word 'yung' used by Hunter River and Lake Macquarie people meaning ‘there’, and is possibly associated with pointing. 'There', a word directing the gaze over Country towards this sacred place is a powerful acknowledgment of Yengo’s compelling presence.
