It seems as though the Temple Mount and the City of David were separated by a moat:
Archaeologists have solved a 150-year-old mystery in the City of David, discovering a massive moat that was used to fortify and protect the Temple Mount and the king’s palace in biblical-era Jerusalem, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Tel Aviv University announced on Sunday.
The city’s northern fortification eluded archaeologists for a century and a half as they could not trace its full route. But recent excavations of the Givati Parking Lot, adjacent to the Old City walls, have revealed a moat that split the City of David in half, separating the palace and Temple Mount from the rest of the city. source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/archaeologists-find-fortifying-moat-in-city-of-david-solving-150-year-mystery/
Apparently, this moat is an old one:
“It is not known when the moat was originally cut, but evidence suggests it was used during the centuries when Jerusalem was the capital of the Kingdom of Judah, almost 3,000 years ago, beginning with King Josiah,” said excavation directors Prof. Yuval Gadot and Dr. Yiftah Shalev. “During those years, the moat separated the southern residential part of the city from the ruling Acropolis in the north — the upper city where the palace and the temple were located.”
A section of a moat that was used to fortify the Temple Mount and the king’s palace in biblical-era Jerusalem, in a photograph issued on July 21, 2024. (Eliyahu Yanai, City of David)
According to the researchers, the fortification altered the natural topography of Jerusalem and required significant engineering skills and resources. “The creation of the moat was a large-scale, monumental operation, designed to change and modify the natural topography to demonstrate the power of Jerusalem’s rulers to those who entered its gates,” the IAA said in the press release. source: ibid.
This division might say something about what would be considered the High Priests versus the citizens of Jerusalem. In the final Heavenly version, such a division is likely not present, but the version in this world has its gaps since those who dwell in the city are not always connected to the Temple in the ways they are supposed to be.
The builder of the moat is possibly none other than King Solomon:
He added that the discovery corresponds to references in the Bible to the topography of the area. In one such reference in the first Book of Kings (11:27), King Solomon is described as building the construction, which was dubbed the “Millo.”: “… Solomon built up the ‘Millo’ and closed up the breach in the wall of the City of David his father.” source: ibid