The Holy Desert was severely affected by the Holy Desert Quake South and appears to have been the area of greatest destruction. The term Holy Desert is used here for the desert east of Jerusalem, forming part of the Judean Desert. During Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic period, this region contained a dense network of monasteries, churches, hermitages, caves, and other Christian religious establishments. Historical sources do not use the name Judean Desert; instead, they refer to the "wilderness of the Holy City," the "desert of the Holy City," or the "wilderness by the Holy City."

Closely related accounts are preserved by Paul the Deacon, Theophanes, Megas Chronographos, Anastasius Bibliothecarius, and George Cedrenus. They describe a major earthquake in Palestine and the Jordan Valley region, large numbers of deaths, and the collapse of churches and monasteries. Paul the Deacon states that the earthquake was worst "in the wilderness of the Holy City"; Theophanes reports that churches and monasteries collapsed "especially those in the desert of the Holy City"; Anastasius similarly says that it was worst in the "desert of the Holy City"; and Cedrenus places the worst effects in the "wilderness by the Holy City."

Megas Chronographos preserves the same broader earthquake tradition, reporting heavy loss of life and the collapse of churches and monasteries, although his surviving account does not retain the more specific reference to the desert of Jerusalem. Taken together, the accounts identify the monastic desert east of Jerusalem as a particularly hard-hit area. This interpretation is strengthened by the concentration of monasteries and other Christian religious establishments in the Judean Desert between Jerusalem, Jericho, and the Dead Sea.

The historical evidence therefore indicates very severe shaking in the Holy Desert. The repeated association of collapsed monasteries with the area described as the "desert" or "wilderness" of Jerusalem suggests concentrated destructive effects there, although individual monasteries are not identified. This concentration of damage is one of the principal observations supporting a southern epicentral region for the Holy Desert Quake South.