It is located at northwest of Malawi in the governorate of el-Minia in Middle Egypt. It's location does not inspire a large number of tourists and yet, this was an important city, particularly during the later ancient times. The southern side of the ancient hill, or tell, is covered by the large village of el-Ashmunein, while today the village of el-Idara is located on the northern side. Sandy mounds, swept up by an
ancient arm of the Nile in the middle of the cultivation area, formed the foundation for a settlement, which is attested only from the time of the 4th Dynasty by inscriptions. They are found in its necropolis near Bersheh, but the settlement may well be older. From an early date, the place was called Khemenu, meaning "the City of the Eight", referring to the number of primeval gods of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. It was also at times called Wenu, "the City of Hares", probably derived from the name of the fifteenth Upper Egyptian nome, which had as it's emblem the royal hare standard. Hermopolis was its administrative center. The present day name, el-Ashmunein was derived from Khemenu by way of the Coptic place-name, Shmun.
