It is situated 1 km (0.62 mi) north of the state highway D.400, which runs parallel to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

[1] Thecla (Ancient Greek: Θέκλα, Thékla) was a saint of the early Christian Church, and a reported follower of Paul the Apostle.

According to the main work about her, Acts of Paul and Thecla, she was originally from Ikonion, modern Konya, and after the episodes described in the book, she lived around Silifke and died there.

Egeria, a woman widely regarded to be the author of a detailed account of a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visited the site in 384.

Aya Thekla, the more prominent church, was built on the hilltop in 460–470 by the Byzantine emperor Zeno the Isaurian (reigned 474–475).