I put mine down low because I hate having all that light up on the pillar. Creates a distraction at night.
And as far as the holegoes, it isn't huge but it needed to be big enough to pull the connection to the back of the cs through. If I remember correctly it is the entire height and maybe a little less than 2 inches cut in from the corner
Edit: I made 3 cuts so I didnt have a piece to put back in. But if you did it right you could cut a big hole. Pull the wire through then tuck and glue the piece back in and notch a small slot for the wire.