What was the movement and subsequent location of the Lamanites after the Nephites migrated north to the land of Zarahemla and the river Sidon area? The record states in “the days of king Benjamin [the son of king Mosiah, the first], a serious war and much bloodshed between the Nephites and the Lamanites” occurred in the land of Zarahemla (Omni 1:24). This statement indicates some of the Lamanites were in the vicinity of the land of Zarahemla and the river Sidon just a generation later (20–40 years) during king Benjamin's reign.

We propose the western coastal route became the main travel route for the Lamanites between the land of Nephi and the land of Zarahemla. From other travel accounts, the route appears to have been easier to traverse than the central and east coast environments and the shortest route to Nephite-occupied settlements near the river Sidon. The record states, “the Lamanites [at the time] lived in the wilderness, and dwelt in tents; and they were spread through the wilderness on the west, in the land of Nephi; yea, and also on the west of the land of Zarahemla, in the borders by the seashore, and on the west in the land of Nephi, in the place of their fathers’ first inheritance, and thus bordering along by the seashore” (Alma 22:28).