The city was built on and around a very small peninsula (175 m long, reaching a height of 61 m and with an isthmus 201 m wide), which is called the Kısık Peninsula today and depends on the coastal township of Ürkmez, part of Seferihisar locality, a district center depending on the province seat of İzmir.

According to Pausanias, the town was inhabited by Carians when the Ionian Greeks immigrated there under the guidance of Andræmon, a son of Codrus.

Strabo, however, states that it was colonized by Andropompus (Ancient Greek: Ἀνδρόπομπος) and that it previously bore the name of Artis in Lydia.

[3] Under Roman rule, it flourished anew, becoming the meeting place of the actors of all Ionia when these were temporarily exiled from Teos, and festivals were celebrated in honour of Dionysus.

Pieces of attic black-glazed pottery were uncovered in the area during an archeological survey carried out by Kütahya Dumlupınar University in Turkey between 2017 and 2019.