This article deals with the legends of P. P. Bazhov’s homeland - the cities of Polevskoi and Sysert in the Sverdlovsk region and their environs. Field records from different times, archival and historical sources are the basis for the research. The relationship between folklore and historical reality is considered in the case of specific legends. The author analyzes legends with mythological motifs (about Mt. Azov and the Gumeshev copper mine) and histo rical ones (about Mt. Dumnaya, the Markov Stone, and Mt. Besson). An attempt is made to reconstruct the complex of historical, linguistic and textual factors that affect the origin of legends. It is established that in this region there is a complicated interaction between toponymic legends, the toponymic system and P. P. Bazhov’s tales. Based on local legends, the tales have attracted persistent interest and reinterpretation (such as the legends about the Sinyushkin Well and the Poskakushenskii Mine). In turn, the toponymic system of the region has been influenced by the legends and by P. P. Bazhov’s tales. This has led to a rethinking of toponyms, their external reformulation, and even the appearance of new ones.