- The marker at Rock City's Lover's Leap overlook claims seven states are visible, but terrain analysis shows only three states (Georgia, Tennessee, and a thin sliver of North Carolina) can actually be seen from that exact spot.
- From the broader mountaintop including the western brow, the visible count increases to four states, with Alabama appearing from the west side, but South Carolina, Kentucky, and Virginia remain completely blocked by terrain.
- The claimed Smoky Mountains view is inaccurate; the visible North Carolina land is the Unicoi crest, though the Smokies might appear under extreme atmospheric refraction from certain points.
- Kentucky and Virginia are blocked by Walden Ridge, about 27 miles out, and even extreme refraction cannot make them visible.
- South Carolina has no chance: its nearest points are thousands of meters below the line of sight from any position on the mountain.
- The distances on the marker are also incorrect: Kentucky-Virginia is 147 miles not 120, South Carolina is 127 miles not 80, and the Smokies are 112 miles away not 50.
- The seven-state legend originated from Civil War diaries and was marketed heavily, but the true maximum from the mountaintop is four states.