The main deities of the place were Khnum and Heqet, both several times called lord or lady of Herwer.

Perhaps in the Middle Kingdom, the place became capital of the 16th Upper Egyptian nome.

The local governor Amenemhat of that nome was indeed overseer of the priests of Khnum of Herwer.

Yet however in the Onomasticon of Amenope and in the Turin Papyrus 118.11, Herwer is referred to as north of Hermopolis, which excludes an identification with Antinoöpolis.

Certainly, however, the place was on the west side of the Nile in the 16th Upper Egyptian nome as in the inscriptions in Beni Hasan, suggesting Herwer is identical with modern village of Hur (Coptic: Ϩⲟⲩⲱⲣ) situated 11 km (6.8 miles) northwest of Hermopolis Magna.