Aztlán

According to their own legends, the Aztecs, or Mexica, came from Aztlán, a mythical homeland usually described as an island, whose name is often translated as “place of herons” and which gives the Aztecs their name. Guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, they migrated south for generations until they saw the promised sign, an eagle perched on a cactus, on an island in Lake Texcoco.

There they founded their capital, Tenochtitlan, traditionally in 1325. Keep the two apart: Aztlán is the legendary place they came from, while Tenochtitlan is the real city they founded, today Mexico City.