Can it really be said that Silent Hill has 'Power'?

[Shadedarkan]

I know that as the series progressed we became less involved with the cult references and focused more on the town as being the epicenter of the occurrences.
I am having difficulty even calling Silent Hill a town for beginners. We know that each game, with the exclusion of Silent Hills 4 and 6, take place in the 'town' of Silent Hill. All these games say at some point that the main character is in Silent Hill. However, all of these games have a developed area of the 'town' situated somewhere on the banks of Toluca Lake in which the story unfolds. So then, where is the town of Silent Hill? Is the entire region around Toluca Lake considered the town of Silent Hill? We already know that Toluca is also the name of the county Silent Hill is in.
With all the geographically separate areas each game takes place in the only physical thing that is central to all the games is Toluca Lake. Would it not be more appropriate to say that the energies permeating the Silent Hill area originate from the lake? It seems to me that the lake seems to be special. Either it rests on a convergence of ley lines, some primordial power rests below it, etc.
There are references in a few games of the native tribes recognizing the spiritual energies of the lake long before Judge Holloway's ancestor investigated the area shortly before Silent Hill became a 'place'.

[Purramid_Head]

Lost Memories explains it. What makes SH unique is the power to manifest what's in the heart, but the other world can appear anywhere. The rest is "emotional imprinting", like a fingerprint.

[Shadedarkan]

I would simply say then, what do you mean when you use the term 'Silent Hill'? It isn't technically what I'm asking, but the way you say Silent Hill has me wondering what you are referring to.
The early games lead us to believe that the town of Silent Hill contains this Power. Then we are thrown when the events in the town happen elsewhere. Later, the games tell us that this Power was there even before the town was built. So then, where is the Power located that causes the occurrences in each game.
Silent Hill 1 is the story of Harry. It takes place in the same geographic area as Silent Hill 5. In both games we move through the same areas of the developed part of the town Silent Hill. However, Silent Hill 2 and 3 take place in the same geographic area and the same developed part of town which are on the other side of Toluca Lake from the areas visited in SH1 and 5.
What makes this even more confusing is that Heather goes to Silent Hill to uncover her past and who she really is as well as to put a stop to Claudia. She never visits any of the same places that her past incarnations or Harry are tied to, with the exception of the amusement park, which is where we would expect her to unlock memories of her past.
Then we have Shepherd's Glen who don't actively participate in the Order and are trying to put that whole business behind them but the whole town is sucked into the Otherworld anyway. When Alex goes to Silent Hill he visits the business district of Silent Hill which has changed dramatically from previous usage.
Now, we are in Downpour which takes place in Silent Hill. Geographically, the events of the game take place on the middle south side of Toluca Lake.
I mean, Silent Hill is much larger than the town we started with in SH 1. It isn't a county so how large are the town's boundaries? Toluca Lake is a big place, is it still a town if it incorporates that much area or is it a township or what?
I don't see why we keep referring everything to 'Silent Hill' as if the town is causing the events. If the power that permeates the area causes the events then it isn't originating with the town at all.
Maybe I am not explaining myself very well.

[what]

I think people say the 'town' has a power simply because it's more convenient to say "The town has a power" than "The geographical region in which Silent Hill happens to lie has a power". I'm sure most people understand that the physical manmade construction of Silent Hill itself is not anything extraordinary.

[Noname6]

They built the town on top of sacred land. In fact, wasn't it sacred tribal Indian land at one point? It seems like the town has the power to bring out the worst in people who have "darkness in their hearts." This is going by what's stated in Silent Hill 2, which is the only game in the series that gives the town a sense of autonomy and power independent from Alessa and the cult. I guess that the town sort of reflects back the personal hells that Angela, James, and Eddie are living. Laura, who is innocent, sees the town in a much more innocent light.