Corycus (Greek: Κώρυκος; also transliterated Corycos or Korykos; Armenian: Կոռիկոս, romanized: Koṙikos; Turkish: Kız Kalesi, lit.

"maiden castle") was an ancient city in Cilicia Trachaea, Anatolia, located at the mouth of the valley called Şeytan deresi; the site is now occupied by the town of Kızkalesi (formerly Ghorgos), Mersin Province, Turkey.

Subsequent Armenian nobles maintained authority in the area (with a few brief interruptions) until 1360, when Peter I, the King of Cyprus, removed the Mamelukes and assumed suzerainty.

Archaeological surveys published in 1982 and 1987 found that the Armenians maintained (with occasional repairs) the mainland castle’s simple Byzantine plan with its rectangular double walls, square towers, and two chapels, all of which were built with masonry taken from the nearby late antique city.

The two medieval castles, one on the shore, the other in an islet, connected by a ruined pier, are partially preserved; the former was reputed impregnable.

The walls of the castle on the mainland contain many pieces of columns; and a mole of great unhewn rocks projects from one angle of the fortress about a hundred yards across the bay.

In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, Corycus became the seat of Latin Church bishops, one of whom, named Gerardus, took part in a council at Antioch in 1136.

[11] In the Corycian Cave (now Cennet ve Cehennem), 20 stadia inland, says Strabo, the best crocus (saffron) grows.

He describes this cave as a great hollow, of a circular form, surrounded by a margin of rock, on all sides of a considerable height; on descending into this cavity, the ground is found to be uneven and generally rocky, and it is filled with shrubs, both evergreen and cultivated; in some parts the saffron is cultivated: there is also a cave here which contains a large source, which pours forth a river of pure, pellucid water, but it immediately sinks into the earth, and flowing underground enters the sea: they call it the Bitter Water.