The earthquake tradition preserved by Michael the Syrian and the Chronicon Ad Annum 1234 describes Beit Qoubayê as the location of a fortress built by the Umayyad governor al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf. During the earthquake, the fortress reportedly collapsed from top to bottom, burying and suffocating more than eighty people beneath its ruins. Both chroniclers mention Beit Qoubayê within the same section of their narratives describing the earthquake's effects in and around Damascus, including widespread destruction in the city itself and heavy casualties in Ghouta and Darayya, suggesting that the site may have been regarded as part of the broader Damascus region.

The location of Beit Qoubayê remains uncertain. Ambraseys (2009:234) notes that the location is unknown, adding that "there is a site in northern Lebanon called al-Qubayyat (34.57° N and 36.28° E) southwest of Homs," while adding that "damage to Homs, an important urban centre, is not mentioned." If this identification is correct, Beit Qoubayê would lie within the probable damage zone of the Talking Mule Quake, making that event a plausible source of the reported destruction. Alternatively, Hoyland (2011:272 n. 821) observes that Muslim sources mention "the palace (qasr) of Hajjaj" just outside Damascus near the Jabiya Gate, but concludes that "this may not be what is meant." If Beit Qoubayê was instead located near Damascus, the reported damage would more naturally fit the Holy Desert Quake North, with the Talking Mule Quake remaining a secondary possibility. Consequently, the uncertain location of Beit Qoubayê also leaves uncertain which of the mid-eighth-century earthquakes caused the destruction of its fortress.