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The Heel Stone lies just outside the main entrance to the henge, next to the present A344 road. The proximity to the road is indicated by the wire fence immediately behind the stone.

It is a large, rough stone, leaning inwards towards the stone circle. It has been known by many names in the past, including "Friar's Heel" and "Sun-stone". Today it is uniformly referred to as the Heel Stone or Heelstone. When one stands within Stonehenge, facing north-east through the entrance towards the heel stone, one sees the sun rise above the stone at summer solstice.

Some claim "Friar's Heel" is a corruption of "Freyja's He-ol" from the Nordic goddess Freyja and the Welsh word for track; the Heel Stone lies beside the end portion of Stonehenge Avenue.

A simpler explanation for the name might be that the stone heels, or leans.

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