The bridge is located at Sultançayır, in the heart of the ancient region of Mysia, where it carried the road connecting Hadrianu Therai (Balıkesir) with Miletopolis across the Macestus. During an exploration tour in 1902, the German archaeologist Theodor Wiegand found the ancient structure still in an excellent state of preservation; only the fourth pier from the eastern bank had been blown up some thirty years before in what was a crude and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to render the river navigable for larger vessels. Another brief account was given by his English colleague Frederick William Hasluck, who also visited Mysia at the time.
