East Mebon served as Rajendravarman’s (944-968) ancestor temple, and was built in a quincunx plan, representative of a temple-mountain, on an artificial island in the middle of the East Baray. The East Baray was built by Yasovarman I (889-c.915), about half a century earlier than the temple, in order to ensure a regular water supply for his new city of Yasodharapura. It was capable of holding about 55 million cubic meters of water when the water level reached 4m, and was called Yasodharatataka, "the reservoir of Yasodharapura." The reservoir is now dry, which adds to the impression of the temple’s height.