Nyi Roro Kidul's position as the Phantom Queen of Java is a popular motif in folklore and mythology, as well as being associated with the beauty of Sundanese princesses.

The fierce Indian Ocean waves of Java's southern coast, its storms and sometimes tsunamis, may have evoked a sense of reverence and fear for the forces of nature, which came to be regarded as the spiritual realm of the gods and ancestors inhabiting the southern seas led by their queen, a goddess, later identified as Ratu Kidul.

One of the Sundanese folktales tells the story of Dewi Kadita, a beautiful princess of the Sunda kingdom Pajajaran who fled to the southern ocean after being cursed.

Another Sundanese folktale mentions Banyoe Bening (meaning clear water) becoming Queen of the Djojo Koelon Kingdom.

Kiai Iman Sampurno from Blitar, East Java (19th century) issued a prophecy that Nyi Roro Kidul and Sunan Lawu would lead their respective armies and spread the plague to humans who behaved badly.

Logically, the reason arises because water on the southern coast tends to be greenish so drowning victims wearing green garments will be difficult to find.

Serat Centhini mentions that Gusti Kanjeng Nyai Rara Kidul has kampuh gadhung mlathi or "a long green dodot cloth with a white center" that is gold-toned.

The places Rongkob and Karang Bolong along the south coast of central Java are famous for the edible bird's nests, made by the little sea swallows (so-called, but actually swiftlets), called Salanganen or Collocalia fuciphaga.

This happens in a cave (Karang Bolong) and when these are ended specially prepared offerings are made in a shed in what is known as "Ranjang Nyi Roro Kidul".

This relic is hung with beautiful silk batik clothes, and a toilet mirror is placed against the green-colored pillows of the bed.

The gatherers descend the sheer cliff face on coconut fiber ropes to an overhang some thirty feet above the water where a rickety bamboo platform has been built.

[10] Palabuhanratu, a small fishing town in West Java, Indonesia, celebrates an annual holiday in her honor on April 6.

The local fishermen believe that the ceremony will please the Queen of the Southern Sea, in return, this would provide plentiful catches in fisheries and bless the surrounding areas with better weather, and fewer storms and waves.

Nyi Roro Kidul is also associated with Parangtritis, Parangkusumo, Pangandaran, Karang Bolong, Ngliyep, Puger, Banyuwangi, and places all along the south coast of Java.

[11] The Samudra Beach Hotel, Palabuhanratu, West Java, keeps room 308 furnished with green colors and reserved for Nyai Loro Kidul.

[13] The painting of Nyai Rara Kidul by Basuki Abdullah, a famous Indonesian painter, is displayed in this room.

When Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX died on October 3, 1988, the Tempo news magazine reported her sighting by palace servants, who were sure that she was paying her final tribute to the deceased King.

[15] According to local popular beliefs around coastal villages in Southern Java, the Queen often claims the lives of fishermen or visitors who bathe on the beach, and she usually prefers handsome young men.

[18] Another pervasive part of folklore surrounding her is the color aqua green, gadhung m'lathi in Javanese, which is favored and referred to by her and is thus forbidden to wear along the southern coast of Java.

The myth of Nyi Loro Kidul as the queen of the southern ocean has become a popular source of inspiration in Indonesian culture, both traditional and modern.