MySQL 8.3 Release Notes
For MyISAM and InnoDB tables, search operations in columns containing spatial data can be optimized using SPATIAL indexes. The most typical operations are:
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Point queries that search for all objects that contain a given point
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Region queries that search for all objects that overlap a given region
MySQL uses R-Trees with quadratic splitting for SPATIAL indexes on spatial columns. A SPATIAL index is built using the minimum bounding rectangle (MBR) of a geometry. For most geometries, the MBR is a minimum rectangle that surrounds the geometries. For a horizontal or a vertical linestring, the MBR is a rectangle degenerated into the linestring. For a point, the MBR is a rectangle degenerated into the point.
It is also possible to create normal indexes on spatial columns. In a non-SPATIAL index, you must declare a prefix for any spatial column except for POINT columns.
MyISAM and InnoDB support both SPATIAL and non-SPATIAL indexes. Other storage engines support non-SPATIAL indexes, as described in Section 15.1.15, “CREATE INDEX Statement”.