A furnace sidewall having slag retainers and metallurgical furnace having the same metallurgical furnace are disclosed herein. In one example, a furnace sidewall is provided that includes a hot plate and a plurality of slag retainers. The hot plate has an inner surface facing configured to face an interior volume of a metallurgical furnace and a bottom surface configured to face a hearth of the metallurgical furnace. The plurality of slag retainers extend inwardly from the inner surface of the hot plate and are arranged in a macro-pattern of slag retainer groups. The slag retainer groups include at least two or more of the slag retainers arranged in a micro-pattern.