They were believed to live near Salmacis' spring near Halicarnassus (modern Bodrum, Turkey) and to have assisted in subjugating the indigenous Carians by cursing the spring waters to make men effeminate and reduce the Carian warrior spirit.

In a description found on the remains of a wall in Halicarnassus dated to around 2nd century BC, Hermaphroditus' mother, Aphrodite, names Salmacis as the nymph who nursed and took care of an infant