While the built environment can structure the landscape, the physical features of the landscape determine the placement of architecture and influence the nature of the geometric forms of the towns. Vijayanagara is set in a landscape of bouldery granite outcrops, leaving the valleys between as prime construction areas (Fig. 2). While the landscape strongly influenced the placement of structures, the city shows an axial layout and cosmological affinities (Malville, 1994; Fritz and Michell, 1987).