Mount Nif is distinguished from the rest of the mountain chain massif by a narrow but key pass at a locality called Karabel which leads south towards the town of Torbalı.

Karabel Pass is famous for its Luvian warrior prince monument carved in rock and dated to late-13th century BC, inscribed in the name of Tarkasnawa, a younger contemporary and an addressee of the Hittite King Tudhaliya IV.

Belkahve is the principal point of access from the east to İzmir metropolitan area and commands an impressive view of a large part of the city.

Mount Nif is sometimes cited as "Kemalpaşa Mountain" in reference to the district center, especially in Turkish sources.

But the name "Mount Nif", deriving from "Nymphaion", the name of the region during the Byzantine period when it was an important and imperial center especially at the time of the Nicaean Empire, is the more common appellation in Turkey as well.