This paper examines how digital methods can contribute to interdisciplinary heritage research by exploring the everyday spatial narratives of Islamic historic sites in Indonesia. Positioned at the intersection of the humanities, urban planning, Islamic studies, and Asia-Pacific regional scholarship, the study adopts a digital humanities approach to investigate how sacred urban spaces are remembered and reimagined through crowdsourced geospatial data.

Focusing on the Ampel historic precinct in Surabaya—used here as a representative case of Islamic heritage sites in Java—the research draws on Kevin Lynch’s framework of urban imageability, applying it to Google POI data to analyse how contemporary users perceive and engage with sacred landscapes. Rather than highlighting religious or historic landmarks, the data reveal a shift towards the mundane: restaurants, markets, and commercial activities increasingly function as nodes and landmarks in the public imagination.

The study shows that while Islamic spatial patterns such as cul-de-sacs and mosque-centred districts persist, the dominant image of the site is shaped by everyday experience and digital visibility. This method offers an alternative to traditional heritage surveys, positioning POI data as a proxy for public memory and spatial identity. Ultimately, the paper contributes to the discourse on digital cultural stewardship by demonstrating how digital traces can be mobilised to both critique and preserve evolving perceptions of Islamic urban heritage in Southeast Asia.

A geographic map can be powerful data visualisation, used to explore concepts of place, location, and distance that are inherent in much humanities research. With the advent of technology and tools that simplify the creation of maps, especially when working with large datasets, they have become a prominent feature in the world of digital humanities.

These maps can assist researchers when we are working through the information we are pulling together, supporting our analysis, and helping us to understand our data. They can also illustrate our narrative and argument when sharing with others.

It is important to remember that, while potentially appearing as an objective visualisation (it’s just plotting data on a map!), the mapmaker is telling a story when they create a map. There are many decisions that go into the design and presentation of that data, which can fundamentally shape the story that is being told. Furthermore, maps invite the reader to explore the information being provided, creating their own interpretation of the data.

In this paper, I am going to explore this principle by presenting a comparative analysis of a dataset across different maps, questioning and demonstrating how decisions in the maps’ creation can change the story being told.