It has been identified with an archaeological site excavated in the early 20th century on a hilltop next to the village of Buruncuk, in the vicinity of Menemen, ca.

[4][5] The hill overlooks the Gediz River, known in antiquity as the Hermos, which here passes through a fertile plain formed by alluvial soil carried from the Anatolian inland.

The city survived all through the Persian and Hellenistic periods, though it was largely destroyed during the Peloponnesian War in 405 BC.

[6][7] Xenophon writes that Cyrus the Great established a colony of Egyptian soldiers there.

[8] In Strabo's time it was deserted,[7] although it is mentioned by other ancient geographers such as Pliny the Elder,[9] Ptolemy,[10] and Stephanus of Byzantium.