Touching on the historical significance of the site, Ersoy said: "Antiocheia was founded by Seleukos I in 300 BC, and then this region was inhabited during the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman periods."
The ancient city was situated on the foothills of Mount Starius, also known as Habib-i Neccar, and the Asi River, including the cave church, carved into the mountainside at the place where St. Pierre first preached, according to UNESCO.