Located in rocky, scrub - covered terrain, Koh Ker wqs briefly capital of the Khmer Empire in the tenth century, when Jayavarman IV who was alreasy ruler of his own state here when he ascended the imperial throng - decided not to relocate to Angkor, but decreed instead that the court should come to him. Koh Ker is particularly renowned for its massive statues, which were the first in Khmer art to depict movement.