San Juan Hill is a series of hills to the east of Santiago, Cuba running north to south and known as the San Juan Heights or in Spanish "Alturas de San Juan" before Spanish-American War of 1898. Now part of an area called "Lomas de San Juan."
These were the heights where Spanish soldiers entrenched themselves in the most famous battle of the Spanish-American War; the Battle of San Juan Hill. The Americans named the lesser heights, "Kettle Hill" and the higher southern hill, "San Juan Hill" after the battle July 2, 1898. The two high points or hills are connected by a draw or saddle on a north-south axis.
The fight for the San Juan heights or hills became known as the battle of "San Juan Hill" due to a reporter's telegraph typo dropping the "s." American Army reports also referred to the heights as hills.