Sagalassos was situated in the ancient region of Pisidia, named after its inhabitants, the Pisidians, an ethnic group descendent from the Indo-European Luwians. The ancient region of Pisidia corresponds with the present-day Lake District in the Turkish provinces of Burdur, Isparta and Antalya. Being part of the western Taurus, typical features of the Pisidian landscape are mountainous terrain, forested hills, valleys with river streams, and large plains with lakes.