In general, this area is called El Kab, but it is indeed the two ancient cities of Nekheb El Kab on the east bank of the Nile River and the older Nekhen, now known as Kom el Ahmar (the Red Mound) on the opposite bank. Both cities were important religious centers that date back to the pr-Dynastic period.

 In the Ptolemaic period Nekheb was called Eileithyiapolis. The city had been very important prior to the establishment of Memphis, and was later the capital of the local nome.  It was the birthplace of the Middle Kingdom nobles who recovered Egypt from the Hyksos conquest.  The city was protected by goddess Nekhbet (the white goddess).

There are actually two sections of Nekheb, which is located on a plain at the mouth of a valley. The first is the ancient city, which is surrounded by a huge (1740 feet square), thick (38 feet thick) wall, where visitors enter from a western gate. Inside, there is  a Roman temple with a sacred lake; a depression to the east of the city.

In a smaller enclosure is the Temple of Nekhbet (attached to a Temple dedicated to Thoth), with its several pylons, hypo-style hall in front, a mamisi (birth house) dedicated to Nekhbet (the embodiment of Hathor). The construction of the temple began around 2700 BC, and was later expanded by pharaohs of the 18th through 30th dynasties,including Tutmosis III , Amenophis II, and the Ramessides . The second part of the ruins is the necropolis, which is situated on a rocky outcrop. There, the most important tombs are those of Ahmose, Renni, Paheri and Se,which date from the 18th Dynasty and the Ramesside period.