Picture?

it's really hard to see much, as we have to clear the 6-8 inches of dirt and have the construction guys help me move those big rocks and then power wash to expose the rock.

Once you have a roaring fire going and it's midnight and you want to go to bed, you Would throw water on the fire, right?

Lezlie, any advice here pertaining to my actual post?

Thanks! I was thinking of using moss rock stone with mortar, but I guess I could just stack without mortar. There is an old firepit they hand made like 10 years ago and is still standing.

If I did use mortar, what would I use? Also, I'm assuming I'd just need to leave a few gaps on the downhill side for drainage. Any other tips are welcomed.

What a neat place for a fire pit. I would also just use dry stacked stone. You don't have to worry about drainage if you don't use mortar.

That's why I wouldn't use mortar, to keep gaps all around for drainage. If you use large enough stones for the bulk of it and smaller ones to fill gaps, it should be pretty durable. If you need a little "mortar" just to snug it up, consider clay dug up on site. It might need a periodic tuckpointing but any clay covered by stone should last a fair time.

You need water to contain the fire if it gets out of control and to put out the embers at the end. A rain collecting barrel, covered to prevent mosquito breeding and evaporation?

I live in Australia, where bush fires are a major hazard, and this looks like one just waiting to happen. I'd be cutting all the vegetation way, way back, making very sure I had a good water source right at hand for flying embers, and hoping the house isn't above that fire pit, because if it is, it'll be a sitting duck if a fire catches. Fires go up hill.

If you're so unsure where to even begin, spend the money on a nice portable firepit instead. These are gorgeous, and will blend nicely with the surroundings: http://firekettles.com/

Added bonus, you don't have to worry about grabbing rocks that are holding a bunch of moisture and having an explosion ruin your s'mores.

Oh, just do what a lot of hunting camps and vacation homes do here in PA. Just get a tractor trailer rim and put it where you want it and build a fire.

Slightly off topic, but what does the name “dentalsudents” mean?

An old email account, but some how when I set up houzz account the "t" in students got deleted.

We built something similar at our cabin. We put a gravel base down on the entire area, for weed and fire control. Then we made a 3’ rock fire ring on top of the gravel. We have larger rocks for seating surrounding the fire ring. We only used gravel, and various sized rocks, no mortar. We built it in an afternoon, and it still works fine 8 years later.

Gotcha. Which dental school, if you don’t mind me asking?

Wow, what a beautiful area!

My preference, if possible, would be to use stones from your property. If there aren’t any, buy some from a local stoneyard. I’d just want it look native and natural. As others have said, just stack them naturally, no mortar. By doing that, it won’t matter if your rock ledge base isn’t level. Also, as mentioned, you could have some gravel on the bottom or bricks made specifically for fireplaces.

I’d definitely invest in a good, heavy cover. We had one for ours and it helped with my peace of mind when the fire went out, but there were still burning embers.

I hope you show us “after” pics, I envy that wonderful view!

I'll definitely show after pics. First, I am going to get my builder to see if he can get his bobcat down to the ledge to remove the dirt and expose the rock. Then, I'll power wash it

sorry, but the picture of the rest of the view inserted here.
. Hopefully, the easy part will be building the fire pit. Thanks.

Be sure the builder watches some cliff fall videos on Youtube before taking the Bobcat down there. :-)