The site contains ruins of a temple, aqueducts, and other remains, and inscriptions,[2] on the banks of the river.

[3] The site is currently that of the village of Souq Wadi Barada (called Abil-es-Suk by early Arab geographers), circa 20 km (12 mi) northwest of Damascus, Syria.

William Smith cites a dissertation in the Transactions of the Academy of Belles Lettres showing that this Abila is the same with Leucas on the river Chrysorrhoas, which at one period assumed the name of Claudiopolis, as shown by some coins described by Joseph Hilarius Eckhel.

John was one of the signatories of a joint letter that the bishops of Phoenicia Secunda sent in 458 to Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian to protest at the killing of Proterius of Alexandria.

[7] Abila, also written as "Abilant"[8] or "Abelant", appears as a castle or city, a character from that place (a princess, king, sultan, as in Rouge-Lion d'Abilant) or even a Saracen's formal name, in The Jerusalem Continuations: The London and Turin Redactions of the Old French Crusade cycle, Simon de Puille: Chanson de geste, Karlamagnús saga: The Saga of Charlemagne and His Heroes, and Gloriant.