Well, here's this picture:
So, we could place one of the cities here, and the other a bit less sheltered.Here's a picture from the coast of Portugal again. I was there a few days ago. This is a small beach (to the right) surrounded by cliffs. The beach was at the end of a long valley stretching northward from the coast. In this example, I believe there was just a small stream in the valley but it could just as well have been a broad river.