She was associated with Uruk, where she lives in this composition, but she was also worshiped in other cities of ancient Mesopotamia, such as Nippur and Ur, and her main cult center was the settlement KI.KALki.

She only plays an active role in the so-called "Standard Babylonian" version, in which she advises her son and interprets his dreams, petitions the sun god Shamash to protect him, and accepts Enkidu as a member of her family.

She is additionally present in older Sumerian compositions, including Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven, as well as a poorly preserved and very early myth describing her first meeting with Lugalbanda and their marriage.

[4] The cuneiform sign GUL could be read as both sun and sumun in Sumerian, as attested by syllabic glosses in lexical lists, but its meaning was the same in both cases, "wild cow".

[15] Ninsun refers to Anu and Urash as her father and mother in at least one text,[1] which both Jacob Klein and Clause Wilcke interpret as literal statements regarding her parentage.

[17] The first among them, a goddess named Šilamkurra, was worshiped in Uruk in the Seleucid period,[24] where she appears in a ritual text alongside Uṣur-amāssu, Ninimma and otherwise unknown Ninurbu.

[25] In An = Anum, Gilgamesh occurs separately from Ninsun and her other family members on a different tablet, possibly in the company of Enkidu[26] though the restoration of the latter's name is uncertain.

[27] There is evidence that as early as in the Old Babylonian period, Ninsun could be equated with Gula in theological texts, for example in two column versions of the Weidner god list.

[29] Joan Goodnick Westenholz notes that while syncretism between different medicine goddesses is not unusual, the presence of Ninsun in this text is, especially since it preserves information about her usual character instead of reinterpreting her as another similar deity.

[31] Ninsun could also be identified with the mother of Dumuzi, Duttur, which according to Manfred Krebernik indicates that the latter was likely viewed as a goddess associated with livestock in general rather than specifically with sheep, as originally proposed by Thorkild Jacobsen.

[36] A temple dedicated to Ninsun existed in Ur, as attested in an inscription of Ur-Nammu, which states that it was rebuilt by this ruler and that it bore the ceremonial name E-maḫ, "exalted house".

[12] It is agreed that claiming descent from Ninsun was viewed as a way to legitimize their rule, but it is unknown whether it should be understood as a sign that the dynasty originated in Uruk, or if the only reason was the fact that Gilgamesh was recognized as a model of kingship.

[42] A prince (dumu lugal) bearing the theophoric name Puzur-Ninsun is also known, but no detailed information about his life is presently known, and the Puzrish-Dagan tablet attesting his existence is undated.

[45] In cylinder seal inscriptions from Sippar from the same period, Ninsun and Lugalbanda occur less commonly than the most popular divine couples, such as Shamash and Aya and Adad and Shala, but with comparable frequency as Enlil and Ninlil or Nanna and Ningal.

[52] The restoration of the ending is uncertain, but Jan Lisman proposes that the final known section involves Lugalbanda inviting both his own relatives and members of Ninsun's family to their wedding.

[59] The final lines are damaged, but Ninsun seemingly holds Shamash responsible for Gilgamesh's plan to journey to distant lands, and therefore expects him to help him.

[63] In the Standard Babylonian edition of the Epic, after finishing her prayer to Shamash Ninsun decides to meet with Enkidu and proclaims him as equal to her son in rank and a member of her family.

[66] Andrew R. George proposes that the passage reflected a custom known from Neo-Babylonian and later documents from Uruk, according to which foundlings and orphans were raised in temples, though their divine protectors were the anonymous "Daughters of Eanna" rather than Ninsun.

[67] He argues that Enkidu's actions during the confrontation with Humbaba indicate that he valued Ninsun's acceptance highly,[68] as he seemingly tells Gilgamesh to ignore the monster's pleas because the latter earlier mocked him as a being with no family.