John Gill Commentary Deuteronomy 27:5

"And there shalt thou build an altar unto Jehovah thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt lift up no iron [tool] upon them." — Deuteronomy 27:5 (ASV)

And there shall you build an altar to the Lord your God
On the same mountain, though not of the same stones. Jarchi's note is, "after that (the setting up of the plastered stones) you shall bring from thence (from Jordan) others, and build of them an altar on Mount Ebal;" but Josephus ^F20 places this altar not on Mount Ebal, but between that and Gerizim. This altar, he says, was ordered to be built towards the rising sun, not far from the city of Shechem, between two mountains, Gerizim and Ebal; but the text is express, that it was to be built where the stones were set up, which was on Mount Ebal, and there it was built, (Joshua 8:30) ; an altar of stones; of whole stones, as in (Deuteronomy 27:6) , not broken, nor hewed, but rough as they were when taken out of the quarry: you shall not lift up [any] iron [tool] upon them ;
to hew them, and make them smooth; (See Gill on Exodus 20:25);

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FOOTNOTES:

• F20: Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 44.)