Shower rebuild

[morgal48]

Hello:
I live in the Houston area and have the requisite tile shower with a real bad shower pan install. I've removed everything to the studs and am almost ready to start my rebuild. I have encountered something that I think I need to repair, but am unsure so am seeking direction.
The floor drain is located inside a 14" diameter recess in the shower floor recess in the slab. An area about 4" in dia. directly surrounding the drain pipe has no concrete - just dirt. The 14' diameter recess in the shower recess was filled with dirt.
Am I just lucky? I can't think of a design or structural reason to allow the drain to float (since it will be mudded and set in tile anyway) so I plan to pour some concrete in the hole and set my bed from there.
Does this make sense? Am I headed in the right direction?
Thanks in advance,
Jamie

[bbcamp]

Yep, you're heading in the right direction!

Welcome aboard!

[Kman]

Jamie, that hole in the floor was put there at the time the slab was poured (most likely) to allow the plumber to add a trap under the shower. In a typical tile shower installation, that hole would have already been filled with concrete.

Depending on the type of drain you're using, you may want to fill only a portion of the hole, or wait until you're ready to set the drain so you can have a little working room.