[2] The cistern is located in Istanbul, in the district of Bakırköy, in the mahalle of Osmaniye, between Fildamı Arkası and Çoban çeşme Sokak, to the northwest of the Veli Efendi horse race track.

Topographically, it lies about 2 km west of the Golden Gate of the Walls of Constantinople, in the western part of a small valley – now completely built up – which runs southwards to the Marmara sea.

The cistern was also used to supply water to the troops of the Thracian army using the nearby Field of Mars, named Kampos tou Tribounaliou (Greek: Κάμπος τοῦ τριβουναλίου), in Latin Campus Tribunalis.

The Campus, where several Emperors were elected through acclamation by the army,[5] lay in the valley of Veli Efendi, where now Istanbul's horse race track is placed.

[1] They were built using the Roman construction technique opus listatum, by alternating courses of bricks and of stone in a ratio of five to two,[7] except near the top, where it is five to four (or five)).

[1] Another interesting feature of the cistern is its water tower (Latin: Castellum aquae), built on the outer side of the south-western corner.