 Jerome and Eusebius refer to it as both a town and an area in the Jordan Valley, about ten Roman miles south of Bethshean.Epiphanius of Salamis, mentioning the village, writes that in his day it was called Beth-meholah.In the late nineteenth century explorers were trying to identify the exact mound, Conder stating with some confidence that the site "is now called 'Ain Helweh".