Joshua 18:9
And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh. And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
The surveying and recording described in the verse belonged to the removal of the national headquarters from Gilgal to Shiloh, which had been chosen as the permanent location for the tabernacle. Shiloh was a small town in the lot of Ephraim, lying near the center of the land and easy of access to all the tribes. It stood in a district thoroughly subdued, so that worshipers coming there would not be molested. The whole congregation assembled at Shiloh to set up the tabernacle there.
The tribes still without an inheritance followed from Gilgal and pitched near Shiloh until they dispersed to their possessions. The ark remained at Shiloh for three hundred years, until the sins of Eli's house caused it to fall into Philistine hands and Shiloh itself to be ruined. The ark never returned there, the sanctuary service was finally transferred to the temple at Jerusalem, and Shiloh sank into insignificance leaving only ruins. The fate of Shiloh was afterward held up as a warning to Jerusalem of what God would do to His house because of the wickedness of His people.