In Mormon 1:6, Mormon states that "I, being eleven years old, was carried by my father into the land southward, even to the land of Zarahemla." If the land of Zarahemla was "in the heart of the country" (of Zarahemla--Alma 60:19) and "in the center of the land" (of Zarahemla--Helaman 1:27); and if the hill Shim was located near the hill Cumorah (Ether 9:3), and was somewhere near where the historian Ammaron and the boy Mormon were living; and if Mormon was taken by his father to the land of Zarahemla which action implies social ties between the two places; then, the question that we should address here is, How much distance was there between the hill Shim and the land of Zarahemla. As discussed previously in the commentary on 4 Nephi 1:48 and Mormon 1:3, the reasoning tends to favor a maximum distance of only a few hundred miles. If we were to assume a traditional hemispheric model of Book of Mormon geography (North America - South America), then Mormon might have had to travel thousands of miles to reach his destination. [Alan C. Miner, Personal Notes] [See Geographical Theory Maps]
Geographical [Theory Map]: Mormon 1:1-6 Mormon Goes Southward To Zarahemla (322 A.S.)