Nan Madol served, in part, as a way for the ruling Saudeleur chiefs to organize and control potential rivals by requiring them to live in the city rather than in their home districts, where their activities were difficult to monitor.
Nan Madol berfungsi, antara lain, sebagai suatu cara para penguasa Saudeleur untuk mengorganisir dan mengontrol mereka yang berpotensi menjadi pesaing dengan mengharuskan mereka tinggal di kota, bukan di daerah masing-masing yang sulit dimonitor aktivitasnya.