Her posing with her arms outstretched may have been a visual reference to the shape of the Nile, with its two tributaries, and influenced her being called "the Embracer".

Inscriptions show that a shrine or altar was dedicated to her at this site by the 13th Dynasty pharaoh Sobekhotep III.

[7] During the New Kingdom, Anuket's cult at Elephantine included a river procession of the goddess during the first month of Shemu.

People threw coins, gold, jewelry, and precious gifts into the river, in thanks to the goddess for the life-giving water and returning benefits derived from the wealth provided by her fertility.

The taboo held in several parts of Egypt, against eating certain fish which were considered sacred, was lifted during this time, suggesting that a fish species of the Nile was a totem for Anuket and that they were consumed as part of the ritual of her major religious festival.