It is disputed as to who was the king reigning during Pehen-Ptah's time of officeship.

These were found in the underground storages beneath the Southern Gallery within king Djoser's pyramid necropolis at Saqqara.

There are only two kings from 2nd and 3rd dynasty to have ruled that long: Nynetjer and (possibly) Djoser.

It cannot be excluded, however, that Pehen-Ptah served a king who celebrated a Hebsed in advance as is now known to have happened in a few cases, for uncertain reasons.

Thus, the problem of determining the exact time period corresponding to Pehen-Ptah's lifetime remains open.