Ascension to the Temple Mount

Climbing the Temple Mount is becoming more and more of a trend in religious Zionism. What is the rabbi’s position on climbing the Temple Mount?
I am not asking about the halakhic permission, because if you investigate carefully, it seems clear that there are parts of it that are a funeral camp, and the main point of dispute is whether there is even an interest in this aliyah – which justifies waiving regulations that stemmed from fear of failure, awareness of the fear of the sanctuary, etc.
Halachically, is there any significance at all to prayer, let alone a “tour” of the Temple Mount? Ostensibly, its importance is related to its being the perimeter of the Temple site, and if one fulfills this mitzvah there when building the Temple there. Is the special mitzvah of prayer in the Temple (if there is one) fulfilled on the Mount without a Temple?
Some have argued that if one ascends the Temple Mount, one can fulfill the commandment of reverence for the Temple. Does this make sense? Apparently, this contradicts the words of Maimonides, who prohibited reverence for the Temple from being used as a passageway, but rather from being circumambulated.
If we say that there is indeed no independent mitzvah in this, does today, when there is a political struggle over sovereignty over the Temple Mount, and the ascent to it affects this, does this have a mitzvah in it because of the settlement of the Land of Israel?