Mekhu and Sabni were father and son, nomarchs during the reign of Pepi II (end of dynasty VI, Old Kingdom.) Mekhu was Chancellor of Lower Egypt. Sabni was Governor of Upper Egypt and held several important titles such as count, royal sealer, overseer of Upper Egypt, sole friend, overseer of the foreign lands and lector priest.
On the facade of the tomb is carved a long, almost illegible, biographical inscription reporting Sabni's expeditions to Nubia, where he collected the body of his deceased father, Mekhu, who had died there during an earlier expedition, in order to give him a burial in accordance with the proper rites. An impression of how the burial ceremony of an important person was executed can be found in the autobiographical inscription of Sabni I inside the tomb. Both tombs are carved into the rock side by side, while the main halls of the cult chapels are united.