Hut Nebes was probably founded during the 18th dynasty as an important fortified town along Wadi Tumaylat. Later it was known as Per-Sopdu and was the capital of the XXth Lower Egyptian nome. Naville cleared a large temple to Sopdu built by Rameses II, whereas Petrie excavated several cemeteries dating from the New Kingdom to the Roman period.
Neither Naville nor Petrie would have recognized the site today: it is almost completely covered by a modern village and only a few open areas remain, used as football fields and for modern cemeteries.