Situated 14 kilometres (9 mi) west of Tangier, the popular tourist attraction is adjacent to the summer palace of the King of Morocco.

There are also some markings on the wall in the shape of eyes, that are said to have been made by the Phoenicians, which make up a map of the local area.

The man-made part was used by Berber people to cut stone wheels from the walls, to make millstones, thus expanding the cave considerably.

[3] Mythological tradition also holds that the Greek god Heracles stayed and slept in this cave before doing his 11th labour, (one of the 12 labours which King Eurystheus of Tiryns had given to him) which was to get golden apples from the Hesperides Garden, which some ancient Greek writers said was located nearby at Lixus (one of the cities of Larache) .

One part of the split mountain is Gibraltar and the other is either Monte Hacho in Ceuta or Jebel Musa (known as the Mons Abyla in classical times) in Morocco.

[12] On 20 December 2003, the caves were closed to the public due to a rockfall caused by nearby construction work, necessitating repairs and ensuring visitor safety.