The ancient city of Seleucia ad Calycadnum extended on the slopes of the fortified hill. The banks and estuary of Göksu have been inhabited since the early Bronze Age. According to the latest archaeological research, the earliest settlement discovered can be equated with the Hittite ura, which dates back to the 13th century BC. In 712 BC the Assyrian king Sargon II fortified the ura for the first time.
Seleukos I. Nikator, one of the generals of Alexander the Great and later king of the new kingdom of Babylon (Syria), must have renamed the settlement that had existed until then as Seleukeia. The number of cities named after Seleukos is nine. Seleucia ad Calycadnum is the only one that shows - today under the name Silifke - an intact townscape. All the others are now ruin fields.
In the Middle Ages, the city was temporarily the capital of the kingdom of Lesser Armenia. At the place of the ancient Acropolis stands the Citadel, which offers a good view over the city and the Göksu valley. When exactly the castle was built is not known. It was built in Byzantine times under the name Kastron Seleukeias. Despite Arab attacks, it remained in Byzantine possession until it was occupied by crusaders in 1098.

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