The north side of the Las Cruces Group is occupied by the Temple of the Cross. This is the highest of the three temples that make up the group, and it sits on top of a 13-level pyramid.
The Temple of the Cross includes two small side rooms and a central room where the actual shrine is located. The interior walls were covered with images of the gods of Palenque. At the rear of the shrine is the famous Cross Tablet, where a cross formed by to serpents symbolizes the center of the world. Archaeologists suggest that this temple was somehow related to fertility rituals. The temple is related to the date of ascension to the throne of Kan Bhalum, in AD 684.