Partly on the western and eastern banks of the dam reservoir, the Karatepe-Aslantaş National Park is located. On a peninsula at the west bank, the hill Karatepe is situated inside the national park. Overlooking the dam reservoir, a walled settlement of the Neo-Hittites was discovered on Karatepe dating back to the 8th century BC. Following archaeological excavations between 1946 and 1952, the site was preserved as the Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum in 1958. The Kumkale on Domuztepe, another settlement of the Neo-Hittites and a fortification built by the Crusaders , which is located about north of this site, was flooded by the dam reservoir.