Byzantine Christian monks venerated a site situated a few kilometres north of Hippos on the lake shore , as the location of the miracle . It is the only place fitting Matthew 's description , since it contains the only " steep bank " in the area descending all the way to the shore of the lake . The site became apparently known since at least the Early Muslim period as Kursya , the Aramaic word for " chair " , and later as Kursi , a word with the same meaning in Arabic , The monks built a walled monastic complex there and made it a destination for Christian pilgrims . That monastery was destroyed by Sassanid Persian armies in 614 CE , partially rebuilt , and finally levelled by the 749 Galilee earthquake . The remains of the monastery can be visited in the Kursi National Park . Christian artifacts from Kursi can be viewed at the Golan Archaeological Museum
749 Galilee earthquake
749 Galilee earthquake
Gergesa