Who went where and why?

When you cross the Jordan, the ones who will stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people are Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin. The ones who will stand on Mount Eval for the curse are Reuven, Gad, Asher, Zevulun, Dan, and Naftali. Deuteronomy 27:11

These are the tribes or decedents of Jacob's sons. And of course, when Moses gave this order the actual sons were no longer alive. So, why were some to go to the blessed mountain and others to the cursed mountain? Well it seems that who's who follows you for many generations. Those who are to go to Mount Gerizim are the decedents of Rachel and Leah's children, while those who went to Mount Eval were the children of the concubines and then there is Reuven who is still blamed for his sins back in Genesis.

And of course there are the Levites who were special and seem to be the ones to chant this particular part about the curses where the people say "Amen" to validate their understanding. Is the chanting to help them remember them kind of like the words to a song? And all the curses relate to sins against people and mostly those that can be 'secret'. And some scholars say that there is a 'curse' associated with each tribe. (Someday I may want to explore which goes with whom - I wonder if we can determine which tribe we descend from today? I am sure there are scientists working on that too.)

One website I found did a real visual impression of where these mountains are and what they might look like:
"Mount Ebal, from the Hebrew word, meaning rocky, is a mountain in Samaria, in central Israel. At a height of 3,077 feet / 937 meters above sea level, and 1,200 feet / 365 feet above the level of the adjacent valley, it was located on the north side of the ancient city of Shechem. Mount Gerizim was to the south of Shechem on the opposite side of the valley.
Well within sight of each other, Mount Ebal's rather barren appearance contrasted with the more lushly covered Mount Gerizim. This difference was used in a ceremony to symbolize the blessings for those who obey God, and the curses for those who disobey" They even did a map to show where these mountains are. Interesting to see it this way.

Mt Ebal shows up in other places relating to curses as well. An interesting article on this subject and of course points out some controversy about this subject: "It is surprising that the altar was built on Mount Ebal, since further on, as well as previously, in Deuteronomy 11, this place is described as the site of the curses. This has been explained in terms of custom in royal treaties in the ancient Near East and in terms of psychological impact, the curse being the primary component of the pact, as a deterrent against its violation. Indeed, a structure resembling an altar from the appropriate period was discovered not long ago on Mount Ebal,[4] and may be identified as the altar of the covenant. The Samaritan version of the Bible resolves this difficulty by placing the altar on Mount Gerizim, where the Samaritan's altar is to this day."

I found several interesting links talking abut this subject:

Another analysis
A Christian Site with interesting points
An Interesting comparison about the tribes