Teancum was a Nephite coastal city situated near the city of Desolation, laying by the seashore and serving as a significant location in the tumultuous years leading up to A.D. 400. The city is notably mentioned during a series of intense conflicts between the Nephite and Lamanite nations. In the year A.D. 364, the Nephites successfully repelled a Lamanite offensive aimed at capturing Teancum, highlighting the city’s defensive strength and strategic importance (Mormon 4:3, 6-8). Despite this victory, by A.D. 367, the city of Teancum fell into Lamanite hands under grim circumstances; the conquerors sacrificed many of the Nephite prisoners, including women and children, unto their idol gods (Mormon 4:14).
Teancum’s proximity to the city of Desolation indicates its geographical significance, being adjacent to the narrow pass which separated the land northward and the land southward, placing Teancum just one city away from an important border region. Indirect references to its location suggest that Teancum was located near the easterly seashore, though no explicit text identifies it as such; the geographical context within the narrative consistently points to an eastern coastal position rather than a western one (see for context Mormon 3:5–6; 4:2-3). This asserts Teancum as a key point of strategic military and potential mercantile value along the eastern seaboard of the land southward.